Mortal Kombat was written with the idea of spawning a new movie franchise, so does the anticipated new release come with a post-credit scene? Based on the hit video game series of the same name, Mortal Kombat saw its release in theaters and HBO Max on Friday. Because we'll be discussing the movie's ending and revealing if there's any new footage after the credits for fans to watch out for, be aware that there are major spoilers ahead.

For better or for worse, fans were surprised to see that there was no post-credit scene of any kind at the tail end of Mortal Kombat. There was great speculation that Johnny Cage could be introduced in a post-credit scene to tease his return in the inevitable sequel, but the master of the Shadow Kick was nowhere to be seen. Fortunately, there is still an added bonus for longtime franchise fans in the movie's credits, as a new version of the memorable theme song from the original Mortal Kombat movie is played.

Though Johnny Cage isn't shown, his presence is still alluded to in the ending of Mortal Kombat. When Cole Young (Lewis Tan) is tasked by Lord Raiden (Tadanobu Asano) to create a new list of warriors in preparation for another tournament, Young asks, 'Who's first?' We then see Cole back at his old fight club, gathering his belongings in the locker room. He explains to his promotor that he is heading to Hollywood.

The camera then pans to a movie poster hanging in the locker room for a movie starring Johnny Cage. It is called Citizen Cage with the tagline 'Fight for your Rights'. Cage wears a big WWE style champion buckle adorned with his name, and in the background we see a director's chair and a lot of explosions. Only the title of the Johnny Cage movie is revealed. We don't get to see Johnny's face on the poster, nor is it revealed who is playing him. It doesn't look like the role has been cast yet. This short scene could have easily served as an excellent post-credit scene, but it still has the same impact hitting the screen before the credits start rolling.

Before the movie's release, it was explained why Johnny Cage wouldn't be a part of Mortal Kombat. At a press event to promote the movie, producer Todd Garner divulged the creative team's reasoning for leaving the fan favorite fighter in Hollywood. It all comes down to the character having such a big personality that there was just no room for him in the first installment.

"Johnny Cage is obviously the elephant in the room, and there's a number of reasons why Johnny Cage was problematic in this particular movie out of the gate," Garner said. "One, he's a very big personality, right? He needs his own space. It's very hard to just throw him in a movie, like I said, with Kano. So, taking him out was very easy not only for the movie, but for the sequel."

The producer added: "I want to make a sequel, and I've now got Johnny Cage, which hasn't been used in the first one. So, I have a big stick and carrot that maybe they'll let me have a Johnny Cage real presence in the second one."

Fans have already been speculating who could play Johnny Cage. One popular choice is WWE pro wrestler The Miz, whose wrestling character has a similar cocky attitude to Johnny. The Miz also teased that he'd be up for the role, though there's no indication at this time he's under consideration for the part. Linden Ashby played Johnny Cage in the original Mortal Kombatmovie adaptation. Mortal Kombat is now streaming on HBO Max and playing in theaters.