Mortal Kombat co-creator Ed Boon has posted yet another cryptic tease regarding Mortal Kombat 1, this time hinting at old characters returning to the arena once more. After years of speculation, the latest installment of the Mortal Kombat franchise was revealed in May with a stunning and brutal CGI teaser trailer. As its name suggests, Mortal Kombat 1 will reboot the series following the events of Mortal Kombat 11, with the newly minted Fire God Liu Kang creating a peaceful new world that is soon threatened by the return of Shang Tsung.
Naturally, fans are excited to see how established characters are presented under Mortal Kombat 1’s new status quo. Aside from Liu Kang and Shang Tsung, last month’s MK 1 teaser confirmed that fan favorites like Scorpion, Sub-Zero, Kung Lao, Princess Kitana, and Mileena are coming back to the new universe. Additionally, Mortal Kombat mainstay Johnny Cage will be included with an alternate character skin modeled after famed action star Jean-Claude Van Damme. Of course, there is still plenty of room for past Kombatants to emerge from the shadows in Mortal Kombat 1, especially with a new gameplay trailer set for this week’s Summer Game Fest.
Mortal Kombat co-creator Ed Boon recently added more fuel to the ongoing Mortal Kombat 1 roster speculation with a mysterious new Twitter post. Boon has engaged with Mortal Kombat fans on social media plenty of times before, and his latest tease consists of the character selection screen for 1997’s Mortal Kombat 4 and a brief message about how some of the pictured characters are “making their way back into action.”
This has led to Mortal Kombat fans drawing theories about which members of MK 4’s roster Ed Boon is referring to in his latest tweet. The presence of a dragon emoji in the post has some guessing that the lizard-like ninja Reptile could make his triumphant return after being absent in MK 11. Others believe that Reiko, a loyal general of Shao Khan that was once believed to be the Outworld tyrant reborn, is being teased for MK 1. A third possibility is Jarek, a brutish member of the Black Dragon clan whose presence could be a sign that the villainous Kano is back as well.
Anything is possible in the rebooted world of Mortal Kombat 1, and Ed Boon is stoking the fires of fan speculation with his recent MK-related social media posts. More answers about who will reemerge in Mortal Kombat 1 could come during the game’s reported gameplay trailer at Summer Game Fest later this week, but for now players are left guessing about which MK 4 fighters might be included in the next round of Mortal Kombat.
Mortal Kombat 1 launches September 19 for PC, PS5, Switch, and Xbox Series X.