To quote our dear good friend, Shang Tsung, "It has begun!"
With Mortal Kombat 1 being revealed and then eventually shown off at Summer Game Fest, fans have been dying to risk an audience with Kronika to speed up time to September 19 so that they can finally get a chance to play the bloody reboot.
But, while Mortal Kombat 1 will bring in a set of familiar fans, fans looking to bring some Hollywood flair to their battles are in for a bit of a disappointment: Cole Young, the original character and protagonist from the 2021 Mortal Kombat movie, will not be appearing in the new game.
According to NetherRealm Studios' Lead Systems Designer, Derek Kirtzic, the world of the cinematic Mortal Kombat will be its own entity, separate from the digital arena of Mortal Kombat 1, as per his interview with ComicBook.com.
Introduced in the 2021 film as an audience surrogate, Cole Young represented the uninitiated masses, stepping wide-eyed into the brutal world of Mortal Kombat. Although he eventually discovered his heritage as a descendant of Scorpion, one of the franchise's most iconic characters, his motivations and personality were criticized by fans as lackluster and generic. Not to mention, his unique ability to manifest an energy-based armor was largely seen as overpowered for a character of his stature.