Guest characters are a fact of modern fighting games, and we may have learned the first candidate for a Mortal Kombat 11 crossover slot. Spawn creator, publisher, and soon-to-be movie director, Todd McFarlane, has told a Reddit AMA he believes his creation is "on his way" to the 2019 release.

The cross-section of fans of Mortal Kombat and Spawn seems fairly significant if forums and social media requests are to be believed, but nobody has been as keen to see the comic book anti-hero join a NetherRealm Studios fighting game as McFarlane himself!

The "Toddfather" expressed early interest in seeing his creation join the roster of the first Injustice. In 2015 he revealed a limited deal with Warner Brothers allowing Spawn to appear in Mortal Kombat X and another game, at their discretion.

Hellboy and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were ultimately chosen to join Mortal Kombat's Sub-Zero and Raiden in Injustice 2, but when Creative Director Ed Boon held a fan poll asking who they most wanted to see - the answer was overwhelmingly Spawn!

[Related Article: Ed Boon Discusses Guest Fighters Past, Present, Future]

Think the comic book hellspawn is really on his way this time? Register to share your thoughts on the Mortal Kombat 11 forum.

We all remember it. A mob of children - incited to flood the streets of a major metropolitan district by a lone, screaming boy. Mortal Monday was upon us, bringing the original Mortal Kombat to home systems for the first time. What was really up with that kid? Cinemassacre ponders the topic in their latest video. Watch it below:

As many of us will attest: you cannot discuss MK in this world without somebody shouting it back at you. Usually directly into your eyeballs. Is this response a vestigial race-memory buried deep within all human epigenes -- or a matter of more recent nature over nurture, learned to us by mysterious Immortals? The real answer may be found echoing in volumes of seemingly disparate texts: 'This is the nineties.' If you aren't hypercolor and in somebody's face - you're on the train to Nowheresville, man.

Cinemassacre don't claim to have the answers, and neither do we, but James "AVGN" Rolfe presents some interesting (and funny) theories in the video.

[Related Article: Cinemassacre Reviews Mortal Kombat Annihilation]

We don't know who the "Mortal Kombat Kid" is, ("Morty Monday" is one possible alias we've just made up), but if you're out there and you see this - we'd like to hear from you!

Are you Morty Monday, Morten Harket, or just one of the kids running wildly through the streets? Do you know who is? Register to share your story on the 2D Kombat Klassics forum - or send us a newslead. You can also connect with MK Online on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Discord! MORTAL KOMBAT!!!

Fans have been waiting for a theatrical return for Mortal Kombat pretty much since Annihilation disappointed 21 years ago. Producer James Wan brought new hope when he joined the project in 2015, but there've been few significant updates since 2016 reports a director was attached.

Fans may've been hoping the announcement of a Mortal Kombat 11 video game sequel might move things along, but it seems unlikely. The Aquaman director commented on the status of the MK movie during a junket for Warner Brother's latest superhero blockbuster, telling Heroic Hollywood that budget, and a drive to "do the film right", will take time.

“That has been such a tricky one just trying to get the script to a point. People don’t know this, fans don’t understand this, but there’s just so much on the business side of things… to try and get the right budget for it, and we want to make sure we have enough resources and the budget to do the film right. If I can’t get the right resources and find the right filmmaker for it, I don’t want to do it, and I’m so busy already. I don’t need to clutter my plate with more stuff if I don’t believe it can be done right.”

The latest comment echoes sentiments Wan has already expressed, emphasizing a goal to "do it right". This was also the spirit when he and Game Director Ed Boon aggressively shot down rumors earlier this year.

Writer Greg Russo verified the veracity of some details, contextualizing the controversial report of characters and plot as based loosely on earlier stages of the creative process. Rewrites are a common part of the development process.

[Related Article: Vault: Paul Anderson on Mortal Kombat and Film Adaptation]

The measured response may spell further delays for fans eager to see Mortal Kombat back on the big screen, but the wait could also spell a better film. James Wan's Aquaman has already earned a record $95 million box office in China, and is on track to take the director to the biggest success of his career as a director.

What do you hope to see from a new movie? Register to follow & discuss the future of the movie franchise on the Media & Merchandise forum.

Cinemassacre, the fine folks behind the popular Angry Video Game Nerd webseries, recently took a nostalgic look back at the sequel that was Mortal Kombat: Annihilation. The video is part of the Rental Reviews series and can be watched right below. Check it out:

The 1997 sequel gained early infamy for its liberal use of crude digital effects, its haphazard adaptation of game plotlines, and dialogue that's memorable for all the wrong reasons.

Cinemassacre's Rental Review shares stories of disappointment that many fans will relate to from their own experience, skewering several of these specific flaws with gleeful detail.

As much as Annihilation wasn't the sequel die hard fans may've hoped for -- it was still recognizably Mortal Kombat, and has a camp value that many are still finding a strange, delirious pleasure in. Check out the video to find the joy in the beautiful disaster, and spare them a few minor inaccuracies. They have since acknowledged the difference between Kitana and a "katana".

Be sure to also check out MK Online's interview recording with various players involved in both movies, including producer Larry Kassanoff, Keith Cooke (Sub-Zero), and the immortal star of both movies - Robin Shou!

Register to share your own memories of Annihilation on the Media & Merchandise forum! It's soooo easy! Also find MK Online on YouTube, Twitch, Twitter, Facebook and Discord!

GameStop Italy has released the first render image of Shao Kahn - the playable pre-order incentive for Mortal Kombat 11! He's got a whole different set of gear, which you can scrutinize in detail below:

As announced in the first official trailer: Shao Kahn will make a playable comeback in a similar role to Mortal Kombat X's earlybird bonus release of Goro.

Shao Kahn was featured meeting his apparent end in the rebooted Mortal Kombat (2011) story mode, where MKII and MK3 were retold in a new timeline. Seemingly destroyed on the brink of conquering Earthrealm; Kahn's absence set into motion an Outworld civil war that brought Mileena and Kotal Kahn to power in the intervening years.

Kahn's legacy saw his armor kept as a trophy in Quan Chi's Fortress, while his iconic hammer featured prominently in Mortal Kombat X comic books. MKX Mobile also featured a Shao Kahn collectible event telling a possible version of his return.

As one of the series' most enduring bosses, he has made rare playable appearances, always finding a way back from his apparent demise. It remains to be seen if his return will borrow from MKX Mobile, or play into the time bending story of Mortal Kombat 11. Goro was disappointingly absent from the last game's plot.

Emperor's Old Clothes: Shao Kahn's armor hanging in Quan Chi's fortress in MKX.

How will Shao Kahn make his return and have you pre-ordered? Mortal Kombat 11 is coming to PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC in April! Register to share all your thoughts on the Mortal Kombat 11 forum! Special thanks to MK Online User for submitting a newslead!