The ending of Mortal Kombat teased the debut of fan-favorite fighter Johnny Cage, who will certainly play an important role in the film's sequel despite his absence this time around. Left to recruit more fighters for the upcoming tournament, Cole Young and his Earthrealm crew head to Hollywood to finally team up with the snarky and cocky but nevertheless lovable action star.
The decision to omit Johnny Cage from the 2021 Mortal Kombat movie was met with a fair dose of controversy. The character has been a staple of the franchise since the very first game and is the only fighter from that initial entry that isn't featured in the film. Fortunately for fans, Johnny Cage does indeed exist in the universe of Mortal Kombat 2021. The film explains that fighters all over the world and throughout history have been chosen to participate in the Mortal Kombat fighting tournament against the evil forces of Outworld. Those in Earthrealm who must participate have a marking in the shape of the franchise's iconic dragon logo, so it only makes sense that one Johnny Cage from Los Angeles has one, too.
According to prophecy, Cole Young is supposed to be the warrior to unite all of Earthrealm's champions, a quest that will presumably take him on a worldwide journey to collect heroes like Johnny. They can use all the help they can get for the tournament after the death of Kung Lao, too. The sequels could very well follow Cole on this adventure and take time to introduce other prominent characters who were not featured in the first film, like Kitana or Nightwolf. Alternatively, Cage could also appear in his own spin-off movie so that his personality can shine more and his origins can be fleshed out, joining Cole's team at the end like he's a member of the Avengers.
For those less familiar with the colorful roster of the Mortal Kombat video games, Johnny Cage is a loud-mouthed and arrogant actor whose quips and humorous observations often serve as a foil for other characters' self-serious declarations. Cage is usually the first person to point out the inherent wackiness of Mortal Kombat's storyline, his meta-level comments drawing instant comparison to Deadpool as demonstrated in a Tweet from Ryan Reynolds. For this installment, however, Cage's penchant for sarcastic commentary seemed to manifest in Josh Lawson's villainous Kano, whose large personality might have clashed with the more heroic Johnny.
Cage is the type of character that needs room to breathe and banter, so introducing him in a later film may work out for the Mortal Kombat film series in the long run since this first entry was so crowded with characters. The payoff may be more satisfying if the story takes time introducing the beloved fighter rather than including him as a sidepiece in an already jam-packed movie. If New Line and Warner Bros. do indeed move forward with sequel or spin-off installments, leaving out important characters gives the creative brains like screenwriter Greg Russo more room to build the franchise's universe. Still, it was hard not to miss Mortal Kombat's cheekiest hero, so here's to seeing him hit the big screen sometime soon.