Mortal Kombat 1 has finally made its much-awaited debut, and it's been a smash hit among fans of this brutal fighting franchise (apologies to our Nintendo Switch friends, though). One of the key attractions of this NetherRealm Studios masterpiece is its extensive lineup of characters - which would have been even better, as John Wick was almost part of the roster.
Yes, you read that right: Baba Yaga himself, the character that has become synonymous with Keanu Reeves' action-packed filmography, was on the radar for the Mortal Kombat universe. Ed Boon, the co-creator of Mortal Kombat, revealed this surprising news in an interview with Rolling Stone, stating: When we were making Mortal Kombat (1992), the whole team was in the midst of Bloodsport, Enter the Dragon, and all the Terminator movies. 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. Boon also revealed that he had envisioned Keanu Reeves playing Kenshi's character, saying: One of the things that I entertained with this game – and this is the 10 out of 10 version – which we didn't do, was, "What if every character in this game was played by an actor?" Like we got Keanu Reeves to play Kenshi… this is, like, pipe dream. The mere thought of John Wick, with his unparalleled combat prowess and arsenal of weapons, going toe-to-toe with the likes of Scorpion or Sub-Zero is enough to send shivers down any gamer's spine. While the specifics of why this crossover didn't materialize remain shrouded in mystery, we're certain Reeves played a hand in it.
