Even though Mortal Kombat 1‘s early access launch is just a week away, NetherRealm Studios is still holding some cards close to its chest. It only just showed off Nitara, who is played by Hollywood star Megan Fox. And now it has finally revealed what fellow Hollywood actor Jean-Claude Van Damme will look like in the game as Johnny Cage.
The Jean-Claude Van Damme skin is for Kombat Pack owners
NetherRealm unveiled this special skin during series co-creator Ed Boon’s episode of Hot Ones, a popular show where the interviewee eats spicy wings. Around six minutes in, host Sean Evans asked Boon about Jean-Claude Van Damme, which is where footage of the action star played in the game. Until now, the render hadn’t been fully shown off even though it is seemingly launching alongside Mortal Kombat 1 for those who have its season pass. Even images on the Xbox Store didn’t have any in-game renders.
The short clip didn’t have Van Damme speaking, but he is providing a voice for Cage, too. The skin also has Van Damme in his outfit from the 1988 film Bloodsport.
Bloodsport, Van Damme, and Mortal Kombat have a history, as the first Mortal Kombat was initially supposed to be a Van Damme game. As Boon told Polygon (and has said a few times before), the team wanted the Belgian actor to be the star of the title and the initial pitch had images from Bloodsport in it. It never came to fruition, which then led to Mortal Kombat being born. Johnny Cage has always seemingly been a parody or homage to Van Damme, so this skin has that link coming full circle.
Mortal Kombat has dabbled with celebrity skins in the past. Mortal Kombat 11 had skins with the likenesses and voices of DJ Dimitri Vegas, as well as Linden Ashby, Bridgette Wilson, and Christopher Lambert, who reprised their roles as Johnny Cage, Sonya Blade, and Raiden, respectively, from the 1995 film. Mortal Kombat X also had Carl Weathers portray Jax in a special skin bundled around the Predator DLC.
