WWE’s The Miz Addresses Not Getting the Johnny Cage Mortal Kombat Role and Karl Urban’s Casting

Fans were a bit surprised to see Johnny Cage left out of the recent Mortal Kombat film, but there was reason to be excited after he was teased for the sequel. It didn’t take long for fan castings to take off, and one casting especially gained a substantial amount of momentum. That would be WWE Superstar The Miz, who seemed like the perfect fit for Mortal Kombat’s resident star actor and martial artist. Anyone who has seen Miz on TV knows he is essentially already Johnny Cage, but recently it was revealed that Karl Urban was cast in the role instead. ComicBook.com’s Matthew Aguilar had the chance to speak to The Miz about the Weakest Link, but Miz also addressed how he feels about the fans getting behind the campaign, Urban’s, not getting an audition, and more.

“This is the first time I’ve actually got asked this question. So I’ll be honest, I really wanted to be Johnny Cage. When I saw the movie, the Mortal Kombat movie, I really liked it. I know there was a lot of… Some people critiqued it. I really enjoyed it, I loved it. I thought it was amazing. It just brought me back to my childhood,” Miz said.

“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 in part two, episode two.’ And then with my name, literally the next, when it came out, it was like a Friday, my name was trending with Johnny Cage. And I was like, ‘Oh my God.’ It wasn’t a bunch of people. It was my name. And I was like, This is crazy,” Miz said.

“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.’ And then I’ll even say, I even put a campaign. I went out on every interview and every time someone asked me about this question, I would say, ‘I want to be Johnny Cage. I want to be Johnny Cage.’ I never got an audition, which is fine. I mean, maybe they just didn’t see me as the character,” Miz said. “And then I heard Karl Urban got it, 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… 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.”

As for Urban getting the role, Miz couldn’t be more excited to see what he does with the character, and he will be first in line to see the film when it hits theaters. “And I think Karl Urban, I’ve watched him on The Boys, I think he’s a terrific actor. I think he’s going to do an amazing job as Johnny Cage, and you better believe I’m going to watch it.”

“Am I heartbroken that I’m not going to be Johnny Cage? Yes, of course. But that’s the story of life. You literally take your bumps and bruises. I mean, this is Hollywood,” Miz said. “This is acting, there’s one part. There’s millions of people that want that part. There’s one, and I didn’t get it. And by the way, this happens all the time. So you take your lumps and someday, someway, somehow, I will start getting into the movies that I feel like I want to get into and start doing characters that I think are meaningful. And that could make me into what Cena, Batista, The Rock have all done.”

While Miz is disappointed he didn’t get the role, he’s been busier than ever in WWE, which has been experiencing a rush of momentum over the past year. “My goal right now is to be the best WWE Superstar I can be, and I’ve been having a blast with this new wave and new crop of youth that WWE has, Miz said. “And to be honest, our shows at live events, at Raw have all been sold out. WWE is so hot right now. Cody Rhodes has been doing an amazing job and Seth Rollins as our two top baby faces, our two top good guys. Whenever they come out, the crowd is electric. It reminds me of Austin and Rock back in the Attitude Era. Like you go to a WWE Live event, it’s sold out. Every single time a person’s music hits, it’s like an eruption. It’s so much fun. So I’m having a blast right now with that. I know that was a long, drawn-out answer.”

“But I haven’t really been able to even think about answering that question. I was like, ‘Oh, wow.’ I’ve thought about it, but it’s like you don’t know how you want to put it into words because it can be misconstrued or whatever. You know what I mean? And I don’t want to be misconstrued. Am I heartbroken that I am not going to be Johnny Cage in Mortal Kombat? Yes. Do I hope that Karl Urban and the crew at Mortal Kombat put together the most amazing Mortal Kombat movie and the most amazing Johnny Cage? Absolutely. Will I be watching it? 100%. I’ll probably be the first person in line. And so yeah, that’s, I guess, kind of my answer,” Miz said.

We’ll still be pulling for Miz to show up in a future Mortal Kombat project down the line, and we will be far from the only ones keeping our fingers crossed to see that happen.

In the meantime, you can watch The Miz in action every Monday on Monday Night Raw, which airs at 8 PM EST on USA Network.

What do you want to see next for The Miz? Let us know in the comments and as always you can talk all things wrestling with me on Threads @mattaguilarcb!

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