Martial artist, iconic figure of action cinema of the 80s/90s, director (The Grand Tournament in 1996) and improbable hybrid philosophical product between Diogenes and Professor Rollin, Jean-Claude Van Damme has always had a very special place in the hearts of players. And this, not only because he played Guile in the cult film Nanar Street Fighter : le filmbut also for a bundle of more or less well-founded legends concerning his involvement in various JV licenses. So, Bloodsportreleased in 1988, is said to have been one of the main inspirations for the first Mortal Kombat. The character of Frank Dux, which he plays there, would have served as a model for Johnny Cage. JCVD should even have lent his features to Cage, but he would have changed his mind, believing that ending up impaled or quartered, even in pixels, would harm his brand image. However, in 2023, JCVD still landed in Mortal Kombat 1as a skin for Johnny Cage, coming full circle. We will add to that that the actor appeared as a pixel in the video game adaptations of Timecop et Universal Soldierand that he even participated in a cult advertisement for World of Warcraft (and also zero advertising for the mobile game Warpathbut you have to pay your taxes). And let's not forget that JCVD was even the “theme” of a Game Jam in 2012.
All this to say that JCVD will be back in the game (haha), as Elusive Target in Hitman : World of Assassination from December 12, 2024 to January 12, 2025.
- Also read | James Bond: IO Interactive's game (Hitman) will focus on its origins
