It appears that just about everyone is weighing in on who should play Johnny Cage in the next Mortal Kombat movie. The Miz continued to throw his name into the mix after seeing the film over the weekend while digital artist BossLogic also gave his support for The Miz playing the character. Now we have members of the cast of Mortal Kombat weighing in on who should take on the role and Josh Lawson, who steals the show as Kano in the film, giving his two cents on who should don the sunglasses as Johnny Cage in the sequel.
During a recent chat with "CinemaBlend", some of the film's cast members were asked about who should play Johnny Cage. The character doesn't show up in the new film but a tease at the end does indicate we will be seeing him in the next film. Josh Lawson was quick to suggest his friend James Marsden for the role, indicating that he thinks he has the right "vibe" to play the character:
"Look, I've said it before and I'll say it again. The one person I kept thinking about, and he's a buddy of mine, James Marsden. I just, I dunno, he's got a Johnny Cage vibe to me. Maybe I'm wrong, but yeah, something about it. He's got that Hollywood look, you know, and I think he could, I think he could pull it off."
James Marsden would have no issue looking the part and he has experience with action films having played Cyclops in the first three X-Men films. He's also a solid actor that would have no problem taking on the persona but I doubt he has the natural fight skills that some fans might want for the role. It would be easy to throw in a stuntman and make Marsden look really good but it seems like the diehard fans want someone who actually has a bit of fight training so the fight scenes like a bit more authentic. That being said, Marsden is no stranger to video game film adaptations since he appeared in the Sonic the Hedgehog movie last year and is currently filming the sequel.
Jessica McNamee, who plays Sonya Blade in the film, was also asked about who should play Johnny Cage but she didn't offer up a name and said it should be someone that nails the audition as the rest them all had to:
"I'm not sure. It's really tough. I don't know. I'm of the mind that I'd like to make them audition. Like we had to audition, make them go through the hard storms like we had to. No, but I would love to see it. You what would be a great for me? I would love if I got to go in on the auditions and audition against people. I've always wanted to do that. So I'm going to have to just leave it up to see who puts their hat in the ring."
Jax actor Mehcad Brooks was also asked his opinion about who should get to take on the role of Johnny Cage and he is also unsure. That being said, he sides with McNamee by saying that the person who is up for that role will have to prove themselves capable first:
"It would have to be somebody who could fight. Every actor has really, really brought everything that they could to the table when it comes to doing their own fight scenes. So, we'd have to keep that up, I think, and also have to be somebody who can pull up the comedy. So I don't have anybody, I don't have any favorites. I think there's plenty of good options out there and I think that's a penthouse problem that we're willing to deal with. Because that means there's a sequel."
I honestly had no clue that Johnny Cage was so popular with fans but I admittedly tapped out on playing Mortal Kombat a long time ago. I think I realized his popularity when fans were vocal in their disappointment about him not appearing in the latest reboot. This could be why so many people are having fun with some of this fantasy casting. While it hasn't reached "who should be the next James Bond" status, some interesting names have been tossed around, including Ryan Reynolds and Keanu Reeves. Another name making the rounds is Scott Adkins, who is an incredible martial artist with a sizeable fanbase. Looking back on the character, Linden Ashby played him in the 1995 film adaptation while Chris Conrad briefly took over for him in the much-panned sequel Mortal Kombat: Annihilation. More recently, the character was voiced by Joel McHale in last year's animated movie Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion's Revenge.
Do YOU think James Marsden should be considered for Johnny Cage?