Mortal Kombat 1 is officially out now, and gamers already love the brutality and roster of characters they can use to defeat enemies and rivals. However, while the gamers are focusing on the now, they’re also focusing on the future. Specifically, they’re focusing on the Kombat Pack that’ll debut in the coming months. The pack will feature not only Kombatants from past titles but also three 3rd party characters that are sure to make things even more interesting. But what might surprise people is that one character almost made it into the game from the beginning: John Wick.
That’s right! The Baba Yaga himself, and one of Keanu Reeves’ best characters, was considered by Ed Boon to be brought into the title. Boon confirmed this himself during an interview with Rolling Stone, where he stated:
“I could certainly see the John Wicks of the world… as a matter of fact, that is one of the ones that we tried to get–John Wick–in Mortal Kombat, and we didn’t get it.”
That’s sad to hear because John Wick would’ve been a killer addition to the franchise. Pun intended. Boon didn’t elaborate on why they couldn’t get the rights, but it’s possible Lionsgate didn’t want the character in the vicious franchise for one reason or another. It’s ironic that he wasn’t allowed to be in a video game since John Wick has had his own video game in the past and was part of the PayDay crew via some DLC to coincide with the original movie.
Then again, that was when John Wick’s first movie was just a “soft success” and led the way for the future three films that would dominate the box office in one form or another. In truth, John Wick would work well as a Kombatant due to his arsenal and large skill level. Remember, he’s not just someone who shoots at people. He’s a trained assassin who is a master with all manner of weapons. Just in the four films, we see him with pistols, shotguns, sniper rifles, knives, nunchucks, swords, and more. The NetherRealm Studios team could’ve easily used all these weapons and more to devise a very unique playstyle for John Wick. Sadly, it’s not to be. But there’s always next time, right?
As for who we are getting in the Kombat Pack 3rd party-wise, that would be Peacemaker, Homelander, and Omni-Man. Plus, there are leaks and rumors about who else might join the fun in Mortal Kombat 1.