Mortal Kombat 1 is now available and making fans’ heads explode, with the story and gameplay that always seek to impress. Whatever your opinion about the launch, this reiteration of the franchise brought a revamp to the fighting mechanics, mainly of the characters and many want even more fighters on their rosters. The choices made by Ed Boon (creator of the series) and the developers largely reflect the fans’ desires, such as the selection of guest characters in the first Kombat Pack (Omni-Man, Homelander, and Peacemaker), but one question that remains is which other characters were considered but did not end up in the game.
Mortal Kombat 1 Couldn’t Get John Wick into its Fighters Cast
Ed Boon and his team at NetherRealm put a lot of effort into creating characters for Mortal Kombat 1, with the initial cast of 24, plus the additional 6 coming in the first Kombat Pack, which includes guests Omni-Man, Homelander, and Peacemaker, as well as the Kameo Fighters. They didn’t stop there and also went after having Jean-Claude Van Damme and Megan Fox involved in the project as Johnny Cage and Nitara.
Although so many surprises fill the game with illustrious presences, for any success there must have been trial and error, and so it was with a character/star who did not make it to the Mortal Kombat ring. In an interview, Boon was asked about the desire of many fans to have the assassin John Wick in the franchise’s bloody combats and he responded that yes, like many other film characters that inspired the saga, Keanu Reeves’ character was one of them, but the negotiation of rights did not go ahead.
Related: Fans React to How Terrible Mortal Kombat 1 Looks on Switch
Regarding Keanu Reeves himself, Ed cited that at one point in the development of Mortal Kombat 1, there was an idea that each character would be played (through motion capture and voice acting) by a famous actor and beyond (obvious) Jean-Claude Van Damme as Johnny Cage and he mentioned that Keanu would be a great choice for Kenshi, for example. The fact is that this desire has already been widely circulated by fans and even asked by Reeves himself, but for reasons that seem to be copyright-related, we won’t see this crossover anytime soon, it seems.
If he had been released, John Wick would have joined the aforementioned Omni-Man, Homelander, and Peacemaker guests in Mortal Kombat 1, but also a larger list of outside characters that have been introduced over the years in the franchise. Since the series’ revamp in 2011, fighters like Kratos, Freddy Krueger, Xenomorph, Predator, Leatherface, Joker, RoboCop, Terminator, Spawn, and Rambo have been guests in the bloody arenas of the games.
Related: Ghostface Hinted for Mortal Kombat 1 in Dialogue Files
These participations reflect the inspirations that gave rise to the universe in the first place, from Jean-Claude Van Damme to Bruce Lee, films and pop culture in general have always been engraved in Mortal Kombat‘s genetic code. With this setback, many fans make connections in their minds that can become so popular that they reach the ears of developers, or they think like fans, which is also very plausible.
What do you think about this? Are you already playing Mortal Kombat 1? What other guest characters would you like to see in Mortal Kombat 1? Let us know in the comments! Mortal Kombat 1 is now available to all players on PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series X/S and Windows.
Source: Rolling Stone
Follow us for more entertainment coverage on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.
