Mortal Kombat creative director and co-creator Ed Boon has shared his thoughts on potential protagonists in a hypothetical spin-off title of the long-running franchise. Ed Boon often engages with fans online, usually sharing stories about how the series came to be, potential developments, or sometimes tease fans with cryptic hints about Mortal Kombat 1 or other NetherRealm Studios projects. Ed Boon recently commented on which characters he believes would receive the spotlight in a brand-new spin-off game, if NRS ever developed one.
While Mortal Kombat has traditionally been a 2D fighting game series, the franchise has branched out of the fighting game space a couple of times. The most notable of these spin-offs looked to expand upon the series' lore, steering away from a fighting game to single-player action adventure titles. While games like Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero and Special Forces were critically panned for being poor translations of the MK formula to an action game, fans praised Shaolin Monks for being an excellent template of what the series could be if it was a co-op multiplayer action brawler. However, the series hasn't had a spin-off like that in quite a long time, and fans are hoping that NetherRealm could revisit the idea.
A recent tweet by Jim's Retro Emporium asked fans which Mortal Kombat duo deserves their own Shaolin Monks-styled spin-off game, listing off four of the most iconic pairs: Sonya Blade and Jax, Scorpion and Sub-Zero, Raiden and Fujin, and finally Kitana and Mileena, though there are plenty more other options that fans commented. Ed Boon directly commented on his pick regarding the protagonists of a potential successor to Shaolin Monks: the iconic rival duo of Scorpion and Sub-Zero. "Without a doubt, if (when?) we do one, it will be Scorpion and Sub-Zero," replied Boon on Twitter.
Ed Boon Wants Scorpion and Sub-Zero to Star Together in a MK Spin-off
This wouldn't be a surprising choice, considering how Scorpion and Sub-Zero are the mascots of Mortal Kombat, but some longtime fans may also recall the canceled Mortal Kombat: Fire & Ice, which was going to be a successor to Shaolin Monks. Fire and Ice would have played like Shaolin Monks, but instead of Liu Kang and Kung Lao, Scorpion and Sub-Zero would have been in the leading roles. It appears Boon still wants to make that game happen, as evidenced by past comments regarding remasters or follow-ups to Shaolin Monks.
As much as fans would likely love a Shaolin Monks follow-up, NetherRealm Studios is currently focused on post-launch support for Mortal Kombat 1, with multiple updates and new DLC characters released s ofar. While there have been recent rumors of a potential action-adventure Mortal Kombat spin-off earlier in June, fans should still take that particular rumor with a grain of salt.
