Johnny Cage is teasing a new Mortal Kombat project

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Could it be Mortal Kombat 12 or something else entirely?

Mortal Kombat 11
(Image credit: Warner Bros.)

The actor who portrays Johnny Cage in the Mortal Kombat series seems to be teasing a new project at Warner Bros., and naturally fans are eager to know whether it's Mortal Kombat 12 or something else.

Andrew Bowen, the actor behind Johnny Cage in Mortal Kombat X and Mortal Kombat 11, took to Instagram and Twitter to share the following video (thanks, ComicBook):

It's a short clip, but there's more here than you might catch at first glance. You'll notice the vaguely Mortal Kombat 2-esque music playing in the background accompanied by the words: "Every deadly technique... and savage combat." But not so fast: that's actually not a quote from Mortal Kombat! The sounds are from a trailer for the 1988 martial arts movie Bloodsport, which directly inspired the original pitch for Mortal Kombat, according to the series' co-creator, Ed Boon.

Further to the point, Johnny Cage himself is a reference to Bloodsport star Jean-Claude Van Damme, which all but confirms Bowen is teasing something Mortal Kombat-related here. Whether that's voice work and/or performance capture for Mortal Kombat 12, some sort of expansion, or possibly the upcoming Warner Bros. ensemble fighting game MultiVersus, remains to be seen.

Regardless of what Bowen is teasing, the next Mortal Kombat game is almost certainly in development. For one, we have this supposed "leak" from NetherRealm Studios producer Jonathan Andersen himself. NetherRealm also confirmed back in July 2021 that it had wrapped up work on Mortal Kombat 11 to start developing its next project. 

Then you have noted insider Jeff Grubb saying back in October that it's his "understanding" that NetherRealm is working on Mortal Kombat 12. With all of this and another tease from Bowen, it seems more and more likely we'll get an official announcement soon.

Until then, these are the best fighting games to play right now.

Jordan Gerblick
Jordan Gerblick

After earning an English degree from ASU, I worked as a corporate copy editor while freelancing for places like SFX Magazine, Screen Rant, Game Revolution, and MMORPG on the side. I got my big break here in 2019 with a freelance news gig, and I was hired on as GamesRadar's west coast Staff Writer in 2021. That means I'm responsible for managing the site's western regional executive branch, AKA my home office, and writing about whatever horror game I'm too afraid to finish.