For nearly 33 years, Midway Games and NetherRealm Studios have continuously introduced new fighters from across the six realms and several alternate universes in theMortal Kombatfranchise. From the mystical ninjas Scorpion and Sub-Zero to the more monstrous Dragon King Onaga,Mortal Kombatis filled with a variety of fighters unique to its universe and lore.
However, many ofMortal Kombat’s creators and developers have long sought to have their fighters combat famous characters from popular films, comics, television shows, and even other games. These sorts of crossovers never appeared until the end of Midway but flourished under NetherRealm with the introduction of guest fighters that have debuted in every single subsequent mainlineMortal Kombattitle.
The Origins and Expansion of Mortal Kombat’s Guest Fighters
Despite being one of the most popular fighting game franchises,Mortal Kombatnever officially crossed over with another franchise until2008’sMortal Kombat vs. DC Universe. Midway and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment producedMortal Kombat vs. DC Universeto generate revenue to compensate for low Midway game sales, challenge Capcom’s ever-popularMarvel vs. Capcomseries, and introduce a younger generation to theMortal Kombatseries. WhileMortal Kombat vs. DC Universesold well and received mostly favorable reviews, the company was purchased by Warner Bros. after filing for bankruptcy in 2009. Thereafter,Mortal Kombat’s history of crossing over with other popular franchises was just beginning.
In 2011’sMortal Kombat, NetherRealm officially debuted their first official guest characters in the form ofGod of War’s Kratos andA Nightmare on Elm Street’s Freddy Krueger. Both of these fighters were sold as DLC for owners ofMortal Kombatbut later became available in 2012’sMortal Kombat: Komplete Editionalongside all other DLC fighters and content, though Kratos was only available for the PlayStation 3 version of the game.
Both Kratos and Freddy were reprised by their original actors, Terrence C. Carson and Robert England, but Freddy was modeled after Jackie Earle Haley’s version of the character from the 2010A Nightmare on Elm Streetremake. Kratos and Freddy both additionally featured unique Tower endings, explaining how they appeared and brought destruction to theMortal Kombatuniverse.
Mortal Kombat Guest Fighters in the Eighth and Ninth Console Generations
Following the popularity of Kratos and Freddy’s inclusion in 2011’sMortal Kombat, NetherRealm would go on to introduce several guest fighters from other franchises in every subsequent mainlineMortal Kombatentry. However, no guest character was ever made exclusive to a specific console or platform again.
Most of these guest fighters were voiced by popular actors who previously depicted them in other media, featured similar sound effects to their film or television counterparts, and, more often than not, were based on classic ’80s action films or horror movies. Theseguest fighters inMortal Kombat X,Mortal Kombat 11, andMortal Kombat 1include:
Potential New Guest Fighters in Future Mortal Kombat Games
WithMortal Kombat 1’s T-1000 being the latest guest and overall DLC fighter introduced, it’s currently unknown if NetherRealm will release any more DLC fighters or Kameo fighters in the game. Rumors have suggested that a planned Kombat Pack 3 was canceled due to low sales ofMortal Kombat 1and its previous DLC, but there’s still potential for NetherRealm and Warner Bros. to release new fighters starting in late 2025.
Both prior Kombat Packs started releasing fighters about a year apart from one another, so NetherRealm could possibly releasea thirdMortal Kombat 1Kombat Packto coincide with the debut of theMortal Kombat 2film in October. This potential new DLC could help incentivize players to return toMortal Kombat 1.
Regardless of whetherMortal Kombat 1will feature more DLC fighters or not, fans can still speculate on which guest fighter may appear next in theMortal Kombatfranchise. These could be characters previously considered but were ultimately cut for various reasons, such asThe Walking Dead’s Michonne,Halloween’s Michael Myers,The Matrix’s Neo,Gears of War’s Marcus Fenix, andJohn Wick’s titular assassin.
TheTerminator was originally considered forMortal Kombat X, for instance, so there is precedent for prior guest character suggestions to appear in later games. Based on NetherRealm’s tendency to include stars of horror or action franchises, the nextMortal Kombatgame could include characters like Myers and Wick, as well as possiblyTerrifier’s Art the Clown,Die Hard’s John McClane, or evenHellraiser’s Pinhead due to their popularity.
