In the final scene of 2021's Mortal Kombat movie, the stage was set for Johnny Cage to appear in the upcoming sequel. We'd later learn that Thor: Ragnarok star Karl Urban will play the fan-favourite character.
It's an strange casting decision on the surface, and while we're sure he'll put a fun spin on Cage, Urban wasn't exactly a fan-favourite choice heading into the sequel. In fact, there were an awful lot of Mortal Kombat fans online who pushed for WWE Superstar The Miz to bring the Hollywood star-turned-brawler to life on screen.
Talking to ComicBook.com (via SFFGazette.com), The Miz explained that he loved the first Mortal Kombat film and immediately knew he wanted to play Johnny in the follow-up.
"My name was trending with Johnny Cage. And I was like, 'Oh my God.' It wasn't a bunch of people. It was my name. And I was like, This is crazy," he recalls. "I remember calling my agent and going, 'Dude, I want this. I don't know what I have to do. Call whoever you have to call. I want this bad.'"
"I went out on every interview and every time someone asked me about this question, I would say, 'I want to be Johnny Cage. I want to be Johnny Cage.' I never got an audition, which is fine. I mean, maybe they just didn't see me as the character."
Adding he wasn't mad to see Urban land the role, The Miz believes his fellow actor will "work as hard as I will work to make sure that that character is honed in, locked in, and is the character that the audience wants and loves."
Despite not finding the same level of Hollywood success as the likes of The Rock, Dave Bautista, and John Cena, The Miz still has acting aspirations but is currently focused on his in-ring career as one of RAW's main heels.
"My goal right now is to be the best WWE Superstar I can be, and I've been having a blast with this new wave and new crop of youth that WWE has," he says. "And to be honest, our shows at live events, at RAW have all been sold out. WWE is so hot right now."
Mortal Kombat 2 stars Lewis Tan as Cole Young, Jessica McNamee as Sonya Blade, Josh Lawson as Kano, Mehcad Brooks as Jackson "Jax" Briggs, Tadanobu Asano as Raiden, Ludi Lin as Liu Kang, Chin Han as Shang Tsung, Joe Taslim as Noob Saibot, Hiroyuki Sanada as Scorpion, Martyn Ford as Shao Kahn, Desmond Chiam as King Jerrod, Ana Thu Nguyen as Queen Sindel, and Damon Herriman as Quan Chi.
New cast additions include Urban as Johnny Cage, Tati Gabrielle as Jade, and Adeline Rudolph as Kitana.
Mortal Kombat 2 doesn't currently have a confirmed release date.