What you need to know
- A new trailer has been revealed for Mortal Kombat 1 showcasing legendary Hollywood star Jean-Claude Van Damme, as an alternate skin for Johnny Cage.
- The Jean-Claude Van Damme skin for Johnny Cage can be obtained by purchasing the Premium Edition of Mortal Kombat 1 or the Kombat Pack DLC bundle.
- Another Mortal Kombat 1 trailer was recently revealed announcing the return of Nitara from MK: Deadly Alliance, now being voiced by Megan Fox.
On Sept. 8, 2023, NetherRealm Studios uploaded a new Mortal Kombat 1 trailer showcasing a much awaited addition to the game that's been hyped for months but never shown until this moment. The legendary martial-artist and Hollywood actor, Jean-Claude Van Damme, will come to the game as a cosmetic, alternative skin for Johnny Cage, one of Mortal Kombat 1's playable fighters.
As seen in the trailer (which you will have to watch on Youtube due to age restrictions), the Jean-Claude Van Damme skin won't be just a simple costume change. This cosmetic skin will transform Johnny Cage into Jean-Claude with an outfit resembling his appearance from the classic 1988 martial arts film, Bloodsport. In addition, the skin will switch Johnny Cage's voice actor from Andrew Bowen to none other than the real Jean-Claude Van Damme himself.
To obtain this skin and play as Jean-Claude Van Damme, you will either need to buy the Premium Edition of Mortal Kombat 1 or the Kombat Pack DLC bundle.
Jean-Claude Van Damme isn't the only Hollywood actor featured in Mortal Kombat 1, as on Sept. 7, 2023, another MK1 trailer revealed that Megan Fox will also be joining the game. She will be voicing a returning playable character from Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance called Nitara, a vampire hailing from the dangerous lands of Outworld. She attacks her prey with a flurry of claw attacks before biting down their necks to suck their blood.
History comes full circle for Mortal Kombat 1
Now you might be wondering why on Earth, Jean-Claude Van Damme of all people is coming to Mortal Kombat 1. According to an interview with First We Feast (seen above), Mortal Kombat co-creator Ed Boon, mentioned that the first Mortal Kombat game (1992) was originally going to be a Jean-Claude Van Damme-centric arcade game. This was mainly because movies like Bloodsport and Universal Soldier were popular at the time.
Ed Boon and John Tobias (the second co-creator of Mortal Kombat) tried to contact Jean-Claude to star in this game, but to no avail. This caused the Jean-Claude Van Damme game to be reconstructed into Mortal Kombat as we know it today and the creation of Johnny Cage, who is heavily inspired by Jean-Claude.
Who would've thought 30 years later that not only would the developers of Mortal Kombat finally be able to get Jean-Claude Van Damme to star in a game but that he'd square off against Johnny Cage, the character that was inspired by him? I can imagine for long-time Mortal Kombat and Jean-Claude fans that this is an amazing historic moment and one of the reasons why people are looking forward to fighting in this upcoming Xbox title and PC title.
