WWE Superstar Mike “The Miz” Mizanin is throwing his hat in the ring to play Johnny Cage in Mortal Kombat 2, the upcoming sequel to the 2021 video game film adaptation.
The former WWE Champion takes the role so seriously that he is already working towards hopefully being cast as Johnny Cage in the next Mortal Kombat movie. Speaking on Ryan Satin’s Out of Character podcast, according to ComicBook.com, Miz admitted that he began training to play the character shortly after people on social media began casting him in the role.
“I’ve been working on my splits, I’ve been working on my kicks,” Miz stated. “As soon as I saw that Mortal Kombat was out and there was no Johnny Cage yet and my name was literally trending worldwide #1, ‘We want Miz as Johnny Cage,’ I was like, ‘If they want that to happen, basically, I need make sure I’m prepared and ready so that if that opportunity comes along, I’ll be ready and focused.'”
Miz was eager to perfect the character’s right-handed and left-handed introductory kicks “because Johnny can do both,” so he called in a trainer he previously worked with on Marine 6, the sixth and final installment in the action film series. The Marine produced. from WWE studios. He added that he is now “almost there” to be able to run the splits as well.
In an interview with Looper last year, Miz explained that his desire to be cast as Johnny Cage was fueled by seeing his name frequently associated with the character on social media. He was backed by followers, peers and even Ed Boon, co-creator of Mortal Kombatwhich motivated him to try to give “Mortal Kombat fans the Johnny Cage they deserve”.
“I will do everything in my power to get that role if the opportunity presents itself,” he said. “I have a huge work ethic and no matter what it takes, I’ll be there to try to do it. And if I don’t get it, that’s fine too. But I hope that the person who does put in the same amount of work and dedication and give the fans exactly what they want because I know what I want from Johnny Cage. I really do.”
Real name Jonathan Carlton, Johnny Cage is the stage name of the cheesy action movie star in the Mortal Kombat verse, and one of the seven original OG game characters. He is scheduled to appear in Mortal Kombat 2 alongside Sub-Zero, as actor Joe Taslim previously revealed that he has signed on for four more movies, should the series continue.
Mortal Kombat 2 is in the works at New Line Cinema, with Moon Knight writer Jeremy Slater attached to pen the script. The sequel is set to pick up on the last movie, which turned out to be a pandemic-era hit, opening at number one at the box office and ranking among the best movies on HBO Max. IGN’s review called it a “fun moment for fans of the game franchise”.
Adele Ankers-Range is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow her on Twitter.