Mortal Kombat 1 has been on a roll since it started dropping teases and trailers left and right. With each one, we get a new look at the new world Liu Kang has created, and it’s an intriguing one, to say the least. However, that’s not the only thing people have noticed about the upcoming title. It’s clear to many that NetherRealm Studios isn’t just bringing in classic Kombatants to fight, but they’re trying hard to get some big-name celebrities of both the voice-acting community and Hollywood proper to help out. One such big name is Jean-Claude Van Damme.
As longtime fans know, JCVD was the original inspiration for Johnny Cage, and they wanted to have him in the game since the beginning. However, things never worked out until Mortal Kombat 1 was developed. During a new episode of Hot Ones, Ed Boon talked about the game and getting Jean-Claude into the title. When he did, a first-ever glimpse of the character’s skin was dropped:
Here’s what Boon himself had to say about the inclusion during the episode:
“When we made the very first [Mortal Kombat], our original intention was to make ‘Van Damme: The Arcade Game’. We actually wanted to see the words’ Van Damme’ there. Again, Bloodsport was big and [so was] Universal Soldier. So we called his people and we’re like, ‘We want to make a game based on Van Damme.’ I don’t know if he declined or it just never got to him or something like that. But, again, this is a couple of 20-something-year-old kids who wanted to make a video game. I could see how Van Damme would go, ‘No, we’re not doing this.’ So we tried a number of times going back and forth with him. This time, we hit the lottery and we got him. We actually have his voice and he’s going to be the Johnny Cage character.”
That’s a big win for NetherRealm for various reasons, not the least of which is that people will be interested in hearing JCVD as Johnny Cage and playing as his skin. Second, that’s not the only “big star” the game has gotten, as Megan Fox was recently revealed to be playing Nitara. Then, in the DLC, JK Simmons and John Cena have been confirmed to be Omni-Man and Peacemaker, the characters they have portrayed in the past and made famous.
Mortal Kombat 1 arrives on September 19th, and hopefully, you all are ready to do the splits with JCVD.
