[10] The company created a short demo reel that consisted of film footage of Van Damme inserted into a digital background in order to convince the actor to join the project, an attempt that was unsuccessful.

[20] In Mortal Kombat X, Cage's gameplay style is split into three fighting variations like those of the other playable characters;[21] Prima Games deemed him effective at zoning.

[note 1][21] A female alternate universe variant of Johnny named Janet Cage appears in Mortal Kombat 1, initially as an NPC during the story mode before being added as a downloadable assist character, or "Kameo Fighter".

[22] Ashby, who had practiced martial arts before he was cast in the role,[23] would later lend his voice and likeness to a downloadable skin for Cage in Mortal Kombat 11.

[32] In Mortal Kombat: Deception (2004), the first installment in which Johnny is not playable, he and the Earthrealm warriors are resurrected and brainwashed by Onaga to serve as his slaves until they are eventually freed by reformed ninja Ermac and Liu Kang.

Additionally, according to his biography, Johnny became the de facto leader of Earthrealm's forces after he has multiple visions of Shinnok and fights to stop him from taking over Shao Kahn's empire.

[36][37] In Mortal Kombat (2011), due to Raiden altering the timeline to avert Armageddon, Johnny becomes a cocky and talkative martial arts actor and "a descendant of an ancient Mediterranean cult who bred warriors for the gods".

While competing, he repeatedly flirts with Special Forces lieutenant Sonya Blade and initially sees the tournament as a joke until Raiden informs him of the consequences should Outworld win, convincing Johnny to join Earthrealm's warriors.

[42][43] After Shao Kahn launches an invasion of Earthrealm and his wife Queen Sindel slaughters the rest of their comrades, Johnny and Sonya are left as the only survivors.

[49] In Mortal Kombat 11 (2019), which takes place another two years after the previous game, Johnny and Cassie grieve over Sonya's death following a Special Forces attack on the Netherrealm.

[54] In Mortal Kombat 1 (2023), after Fire God Liu Kang creates a second new timeline while stopping Kronika, Johnny has become a powerless and struggling actor whose expensive lifestyle drives away his ex-wife, Christina, whom he married before becoming famous.

He, Liu Kang, and Sonya Blade are chosen by Raiden to participate in the eponymous tournament, with Johnny agreeing to prove himself as a legitimate fighter after being tricked by Shang Tsung.

After assaulting the executive and two security guards, Shang Tsung approaches Cage to recruit him as a fighter for Outworld in the Mortal Kombat tournament.

Following minor appearances in the first two films, the third sees a young Cage taking up martial arts while in school before traveling the world to train in various fighting styles and eventually becoming an action star after saving a Hollywood producer from a mugger.

By the 1980s, Cage becomes embroiled in the Brotherhood of Shadows' plot to summon Shinnok and joins forces with his assistant Chuck Golden and demonness Ashrah to stop the cult.

[83] Cage has been rated among the top Mortal Kombat characters by various gaming media publications,[84][85][86][87] and his Fatality finishing moves over the course of his series appearances have been positively received.

"[92] However, Shea Serrano of Grantland rated Cage as the second-worst of Mortal Kombat II's characters in 2012, on the basis of his skill being "overtaken almost entirely by his own ego.

[99] In their review of Mortal Kombat 11, the Washington Post enjoyed the interactions presented between the young and the old Cage as they gave elements that helped to make the narrative more appealing.

[101] Gavin Jasper of Den of Geek praised Linden Ashby's performance in the first Mortal Kombat film as "a perfect idea of" Cage's personality.