Mortal Kombat Creator Reveals How a Fan Rumor Turned Into a Real Fatality
In the early days of the Mortal Kombat franchise, there were constant rumors about secret characters and hidden Fatalities that proved to be untrue. In the days before the internet, it was easy for rumors to spread through word of mouth, and much more difficult for developers to widely debunk them. However, it seems at least one of those rumors inspired Mortal Kombat co-creator Ed Boon to make one a reality. One particular Mortal Kombat II rumor suggested that players could throw an opponent into the mouth of a tree in the Living Forest stage. According to Boon, the team eventually decided to make it something that could be done in Mortal Kombat 9!
Boon's Tweet about the Fatality, and a video of it from Mortal Kombat 9, can be found in the Tweet embedded below.
One of the many rumors about #MortalKombat 2 was that the living forest had a stage fatality where the loser can be thrown into the tree’s mouths an eaten
— Ed Boon (@noobde) March 21, 2023
7 games later, we made that rumor a reality in MK9 😀👍🏻
Video via @MK_habit_addict pic.twitter.com/aYx1Y6E27d
It's interesting to think just how much things have changed since the early days of the Mortal Kombat franchise. These days, fans have a lot more freedom to communicate with people like Boon, and possibly even shape the future of the series! Just a few days ago, Boon asked fans about which mode they'd like to see return in a future game. The poll doesn't necessarily mean that any of those modes will appear in Mortal Kombat 12, but it's possible Boon and the rest of the team at NetherRealm will take it into consideration at some point down the line.
Unfortunately, there's been no actual information about Mortal Kombat 12, thus far. The game was announced back in February during a Warner Bros. Discovery earnings call, which was likely much earlier than NetherRealm Studios was planning. At this time, it's impossible to say how far along the game might be, or when we might see it. For now, fans will just have to enjoy the existing games, and let Boon know what they'd like to see; it might even just happen, at some point or another!
Did you ever hear this rumor in the early days of Mortal Kombat? Were you surprised when the team decided to make this a reality? Let us know in the comments or share your thoughts directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp to talk all things gaming!