Mortal Kombat Cast Reveals Who They Think Should Play Johnny Cage

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The Mortal Kombat cast revealed who they would like to see play Johnny Cage in a potential sequel. The 2021 reboot hit HBO Max and theaters this weekend, bringing the popular video game franchise to the big screen for the first time since 1997's failed Mortal Kombat: Annihilation. The Warner Bros. and New Line Cinema production brought some of the series' most famous fighters to life, including Sub-Zero, Jax, Liu Kang, Sonya Blade, Kano, and Kung Lao in a fight for Earthrealm against the evil forces of Outworld.

Although there is no tournament in Mortal Kombat, the film still found a way to pit the fighters against one another, but one iconic character was missing. Johnny Cage was notably absent from the film, but the ending seemed to hint at his existence in the film's universe. Lewis Tan's Cole Young announces at the end of Mortal Kombat that he is off to Hollywood in search of someone, and fans knew immediately who that someone could be. Unfortunately, Johnny Cage was not seen in any capacity in the film, but the cast has shared who they'd like to play him in a sequel.

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Speaking to CinemaBlend, the cast of Mortal Kombat offered up their picks of who should take on the role of Johnny Cage. Kano actor Josh Lawson suggested James Marsden, whom he shares a personal relationship with:

Look, I've said it before and I'll say it again. The one person I kept thinking about, and he's a buddy of mine, James Marsden. I just, I dunno, he's got a Johnny Cage vibe to me. Maybe I'm wrong, but yeah, something about it. He's got that Hollywood look, you know, and I think he could, I think he could pull it off.

Jessica McNamee, who plays Sonya Blade, didn't give a specific name, but insisted that whoever does take on the role should go through an audition process like the rest of the actors:

I'm not sure. It's really tough. I don't know. I'm of the mind that I'd like to make them audition. Like we had to audition, make them go through the hard storms like we had to. No, but I would love to see it. You what would be a great for me? I would love if I got to go in on the auditions and audition against people. I've always wanted to do that. So I'm going to have to just leave it up to see who puts their hat in the ring.

Mechad Brooks (Jax) agreed with McNamee's suggestion that they audition and hopes that they make sure the actor can fight:

You know, I don't know. I'm gonna leave that in the capable hands of Warner brothers and Todd Garner and Simon McQuoid and New Line, and everybody who is going to weigh in on that decision. However, it would have to be somebody who could fight. Every actor has really, really brought everything that they could to the table when it comes to doing their own fight scenes. So, we'd have to keep that up, I think, and also have to be somebody who can pull up the comedy. So I don't have anybody, I don't have any favorites. I think there's plenty of good options out there and I think that's a penthouse problem that we're willing to deal with. Because that means there's a sequel.

Tan suggested Scott Atkins and even Keanu Reeves who was the subject of our Johnny Cage April Fool's Day joke:

That's a champagne problem. I think that Johnny is such an iconic character and I think that we were building a new energy for this movie. We're building something that is respectful of the franchise from before, but we're also bringing a new era, like the trailer said, you know what I mean? That's how we really feel about it. So there's many ways that it can go in my mind. There was an April fool's joke on Twitter that I saw where it was like Keanu Reeves is going to play Johnny Cage,’ and I was like, that's a pretty interesting casting. Then there's guys like Scott Atkins, who was an incredible martial artist and an actor. And I think that that would be kind of a cool way to go about it.

Whoever plays Johnny Cage in the Mortal Kombat sequel will have big shoes to fill. Cage has become one of the most popular characters in the franchise and his set-up for the sequel certainly portends big things for the role. The actor who takes it on will have to be able to fight like the rest of the cast while playing the larger-than-life character. McNamee is certainly on to something in suggesting that they audition opposite her. Sonya Blade eventually goes on to form a relationship with Cage, and they have a daughter named Cassie.

Ultimately, saving Johnny Cage for the Mortal Kombat sequel seems to be the right choice. The 2021 film is already filled to the brim with characters who take up plenty of screen time. Johnny Cage being in the film would have detracted from that and could have led to some complications to the storytelling. Whether or not Mortal Kombat proves successful enough to warrant a sequel remains to be seen, but it's clear that, if and when it does happen, Cage will be a major player.