Mortal Kombat creator and NetherRealm Studios head Ed Boon has revealed the guest fighter he would most like to see appear in one of the series' future games. Mortal Kombat 11 launched in 2019, and while it's still played by many to this day, others are anxious for a new entry in the long-running franchise. NetherRealm is working on some mysterious new project, and while it could be something else, there are rumors that the studio's next game is none other than Mortal Kombat 12.
Ed Boon previously took to Twitter to narrow down NetherRealm's next game to two possibilities: Mortal Kombat 12 or Injustice 3. Boon has yet to clarify what the studio's next game will be, but he's also teased that fans will learn more in 2023. If NetherRealm's next game is Mortal Kombat 12, one would imagine that the game will feature a variety of guest fighters, as is tradition. It's anyone's guess as to who those guest fighters may be, but if Ed Boon had his way, it would be one character in particular.
As spotted by Comic Book, Ed Boon recently responded to a fan on Twitter who asked him about his dream guest fighter for a Mortal Kombat game. According to Boon, his dream Mortal Kombat guest fighter would be Ryu, the main character of Capcom's Street Fighter fighting game series.
Ryu is one of the most iconic video game characters of all time, and he's easily one of the most-recognizable fighting game characters there is. And since Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter are perhaps the two biggest fighting game franchises of all time, it makes sense that Boon would want to see Ryu duke it out with the likes of Scorpion in a new Mortal Kombat game. The Street Fighter franchise has crossed over with other fighting game series in the past, but even so, it does seem highly unlikely that Ryu will ever pop up in a Mortal Kombat game.
If Ryu were featured in a Mortal Kombat game, it would mean that he would be susceptible to being torn to shreds, ripped apart, and brutalized in graphically violent ways. The Street Fighter games don't shy away from violence, but they have a far more stylized approach to it. It seems unlikely that Capcom would be willing to loan Ryu to Mortal Kombat, where the over-the-top graphic violence could potentially hurt the Street Fighter brand's image.
Capcom is not against letting Ryu appear in other video games. In fact, Ryu Super Smash Bros. roster. Even so, fans shouldn't hold their breath for Ryu to appear in Mortal Kombat.
Source: Comic Book