Key figures from Mortal Kombat 1’s development staff are hinting that two popular characters from past Mortal Kombat games could be returning as playable fighters. The MK timeline may be reset with Mortal Kombat 1, but plenty of figures from across the franchise are coming back for the latest round of bloody, brutal action. Such returning faces include Liu Kang (in his new Fire God form), Scorpion and Sub-Zero (who are now brothers in the Lin Kuei clan), and Kitana and Mileena (who have also been revamped as dual heirs to the throne of Outworld).Mortal Kombat 1’s continuity reboot sets the stage for some interesting new takes on MK’s large and eclectic roster of playable characters, and fans naturally have their wish lists of which characters they want to see return in the new game. Mortal Kombat co-creator Ed Boon has been stoking these discussions in his usual cryptic way, hinting that classic characters from past entries could emerge from the shadows in the latest MK adventure - either as primary playable combatants or as part of Mortal Kombat 1’s secondary Kameo Fighter roster. Ed Boon recently dropped another mysterious Mortal Kombat 1 hint on Twitter, this time suggesting that the vengeance-seeking Edenian Prince Rain could be included in the game’s lineup of warriors. This tease was as puzzling as most of Boon’s social media postings, with a simple message reading, “...the phone rings. It's Vicky calling....” Commenters have theorized that this is a reference to Prince’s song “Vicki Waiting,” which in turn could be a nod to Rain given that the ninja was created as a shout-out to the late pop superstar (his name and color scheme are an homage to “Purple Rain,” for instance).
Meanwhile, Warner Bros. Games community manager Cory Taylor dropped his own Mortal Kombat 1 tease, this one being in response to a previous Twitter post from Ed Boon. Boon revealed that another Mortal Kombat 1 gameplay trailer is on the way following its showing at last month’s Summer Game Fest, and Taylor responded with a retweet claiming that “it’s gonna melt faces.” While no specific Mortal Kombat character was mentioned in this post, fans think it could be a reference to Reptile's trademark acid-spitting power. The reptilian warrior has been highly requested for Mortal Kombat 1 and was even mentioned in a recent leak of MK 1’s supposed character roster.
Cory Taylor’s social media post could be another clue that Reptile is making his long-awaited return in Mortal Kombat 1 following his absence in Mortal Kombat 11, but it bears noting that nothing official has been set in stone yet. Likewise, Ed Boon’s Rain-related tease could just be him toying with his Twitter as he has been known to do from time to time. On the other hand, fans could be getting an official confirmation that Rain and Reptile are coming to Mortal Kombat 1 during this week’s upcoming Kombat Kast livestream.
Mortal Kombat 1 will be released on September 19, 2023, for Nintendo Switch, PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.