WWE fans will remember the time when Michael Mizanin aka The Miz heavily campaigned to play the live-action Johnny Cage for New Line.
The Miz’s campaign was initially started by his fans who took to social media to fan-cast him upon the release of the 2021 Mortal Kombat movie.
Related: Lewis Tan Reveals He’s Now In Australia For Live-Action ‘Mortal Kombat 2’ Movie
Johnny Cage is an iconic and classic character within the Mortal Kombat universe that was teased at the end of the 2021 instalment to be joining the roster of fighters for the upcoming sequel Mortal Kombat 2.
The Miz Reacts To Karl Urban Landing The Role
While talking to ComicBook, The Miz was asked to share his thoughts on the recent casting announcement that Karl Urban (The Boys) would be starring as the live-action Johnny Cage in New Line’s Mortal Kombat 2.
Related: Baraka Actor Confirmed For ‘Mortal Kombat 2’ Movie, First Look Revealed
“I heard Karl Urban got [the Johnny Cage role] and I was like ‘wow’ (…) and people were like ‘are you mad? are you angry?’ and it’s like, I never get mad or angry when someone else gets a part that I want.
I am fully supportive of a person getting [it], I imagine they’re going to work as hard as I will work to make sure that that character is honed in, locked in, and is the character that the audience wants, and loves.”
The Miz
“Am I Heartbroken? Yes, Of Course.”
He also continued to add that he has been left “heartbroken” due to not being offered the role but uses the loss as a lesson to stay positive for the future.
See below for what he had to say.
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“I’ve watched [Karl Urban] on The Boys. I think he is a terrific actor, I think that he’s going to do an amazing job as Johnny Cage.
And you better believe that I’m going to watch [Mortal Kombat 2], am I heartbroken that I’m not going to be Johnny Cage? Yes, of course (…) but that’s the story of life, you take your bumps and bruises.
This is Hollywood, this is acting. There’s one part and there’s millions of people that want that part, there’s one and I didn’t get it. So, by the way, this happens all of the time. So, you just take your lumps and someday, someway, somehow, I will start getting into the movies that I want to get into.
[I will] start doing characters that I think are meaningful, that could make me into what [John] Cena, [Dave] Bautista, and The Rock have all done.”
The Miz
WWE’s The Miz “Loved” ‘Mortal Kombat’ (2021)
“This is the first time that I’ve ever got asked this question! So, I’ll be honest, I really wanted to be Johnny Cage. When I saw the Mortal Kombat movie, I really liked it. I know there was a lot of – some people critiqued it, some people said – I really enjoyed it. I loved it, I thought it was amazing.
It brought me back to my childhood. I’ve always loved the character Johnny Cage and when it wasn’t in there, I was like ‘oh wow, man! I can’t believe they didn’t put Johnny Cage in’ and then at the end you’re like ‘oh man, he’s coming!’.
When it came out, it was like a Friday, my name was like trending with Johnny Cage and I was like ‘oh my god’ (…) ‘this is crazy’ and so I remember calling my agent and going ‘dude, I want this. I don’t know what I have to do, call whoever you have to call, I want this bad.’”
The Miz
Campaigning To Play Johnny Cage
“I even put a campaign [to play Johnny Cage]. I went out on every interview and everytime someone asked me about this question, I would say ‘I want to be Johnny Cage, I want to be Johnny Cage.’”
The Miz
The Miz Never Got To Audition For Johnny Cage
Despite trending across all major social media platforms, The Miz’s and his fans’ campaign for him to play Johnny Cage failed to even land an audition.
Related: First Look at Karl Urban as Johnny Cage In ‘Mortal Kombat 2’ Revealed (Image)
“I never got an audition, which is fine, you know, maybe they just didn’t see me as the character [Johnny Cage].”
The Miz
This is somewhat surprising due to the intense fan request for The Miz to play the live-action character, however, it may also indicate that Warner Bros. and New Line Cinema had Urban in mind from the jump.
Mortal Kombat 2 does not yet have a confirmed release date.
Source: ComicBook.com
