When it comes to the video game industry, there is almost always an expectation that a sequel will come if a title does well. Even for titles that don’t have direct sequels, like with FromSoftware titles at times, you can expect a “spiritual successor” or something familiar from the team. In the case of NetherRealm Studios, they’re on the brink of releasing their next big title, Mortal Kombat 1, and many are pumped to see it in full. But what might excite them the most is that the team is already thinking about what’s next in this world’s new story.
In Mortal Kombat 1, we’re getting a brand-new timeline with a “redone” world at the hands of Fire God Liu Kang. This is the crux of the story, and through that, we’re getting new looks at classic characters, both good and bad. In a chat with ComicBook.com, story director Dominic Ciancolo noted that this story won’t be a “rehash” of things like a certain reboot did several years ago. Instead, it’ll act more like a “springboard” for things to come, and the team may already be working on what may come next:
“I think there’s an expectation that was established because of MK9. That was obviously a speed run through the first three games. So we saw characters fully develop to what people knew them to be over the course of that one game,” Ciancolo noted. “Mortal Kombat 1 as a narrative is a springboard. It’s the first step on this road. And so we’re going to obviously see the characters develop, they’re going to change, things are going to happen, but this is not the end. This is just the beginning. And so that’s going to be something we hopefully will evolve as we go forward.”
While this doesn’t directly confirm a sequel is happening, recent franchise history would indicate it’s a safe bet it’ll happen. Don’t forget that the last entry was the best-selling title in series history. If the new game can even do half as well as that, which it could by all early indications, then a sequel is pretty much guaranteed. That’s not to say that there won’t be story DLC like in the last game, but even that would act more like a “springboard” for what could happen next.
The team previously noted that it was difficult to confine the story to the 24 playable characters within the game’s new setting. So perhaps having another game to flesh things out.
