In a world of increasingly traded and converging intellectual properties few things are sacred, but as The Matrix prepares for resurrection, Keanu Reeves still believes in keeping some realities separate. The star was asked about his iconic characters crossing over with Mortal Kombat in a recent Q&A. Watch and learn:

The actor tackled popular facts and fiction about his career in an "Explain This" interview with Esquire. He was asked everything from marital status to casting sliding doors, but it's the prospects for his iconic characters appearing in Mortal Kombat that got a thoughtful, but decisive rejection.

Fans have been dying for Neo or John Wick to appear in a Mortal Kombat game. [Laughs]. If it were up to you, would you allow it to happen?
If it was up to me: no. Mortal Kombat is awesome - in so many ways - but I think, y'know... Neo, John Wick. Yeah, man. They're doing their own thing. Mortal Kombat's doing their own thing.

The idea of Neo entering Mortal Kombat was seriously considered when the fighting game franchise was rebooted under new parent company, Warner Brothers, a decade ago.

Creative Director Ed Boon revealed the Matrix crossover submitted during development, but the team ultimately realised "horror characters tend to lend themselves to it". The 2011 reboot game instead featured horror slasher Freddy Krueger, and PlayStation exclusive Kratos.

Multimedia guest characters continue to be a high selling cottage industry unto themselves, but also remain controversial amongst die hard fans, who, like Reeves, have a healthy respect for characters and projects that are "doing their own thing". That may not stop Warner Brothers finding ways to commodify their blockbuster property, though.

MultiVersus will take the pop culture megamix of WB's Space Jam: A New Legacy and Ready Player One a step further, consolidating WB cartoon and pop properties in a Super Smash Bros style platform fighting game coming 2022.

Neither The Matrix nor Mortal Kombat have been confirmed for the upcoming brawler, but the inclusion of a Game of Thrones character has thrown the door wide open to speculation that traditionally adult brands may get a kid-friendly makeover on their way to battling Steven Universe and Adventure Time characters.

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The 2011 video game that could've featured Neo is enjoying a revival thanks to newly added Xbox backwards compatibility. Would you have liked to see Neo or John Wick in kombat? Where we go from here is a choice I leave to you. Share your thoughts in the comments below, or discuss the infinite possibilities for the series' next step in the Future MK forum.

It's the game enthusiastic fans have clamored for but didn't even know they wanted. MultiVersus officially brings together the characters & brands of Warner Bros for a crossover platform fighter that will finally unleash the fighting instinct of Shaggy and more! Read on for much needed explanations:

Can an internet meme really launch a franchise? MultiVersus seizes upon the viral sensation of "Ultra Instinct Shaggy", answering the cries of over 380,000 fans who've continued to sign a petition to get Shaggy into Mortal Kombat 11 -- even though developer support for the game ended in July.

Last month rumors incorrectly circulated that the Super Smash Bros style game would be developed by NetherRealm Studios, and while Shaggy's involvement in MK is likely to remain limited to an animated cameo, we can't rule out a rematch between Scorpion and his new Saturday morning cartoon rival.

Game of Thrones anti-heroine Arya Stark has opened the door to traditionally adult franchises in the otherwise kid-friendly free-to-play team-based platform fighter, which will be coming to PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and PC in 2022.

The game has also previewed DC Comics fighters Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, who've starred in NetherRealm's Injustice franchise, and clashed with MK in Mortal Kombat versus DC Universe -- a newly added 360 title added to Xbox Backwards Compatibility support.

The game has also previewed characters from the Cartoon Network stable, including Adventure Time, Steven Universe, Looney Tunes, and Tom & Jerry. Among the adult franchise characters rumored for a future inclusion is "Mad" Max Rockatansky.

Do you think MK will enter the MultiVersus arena? Could the Player First Games free-to-play model be a testground for future NetherRealm fighters? Share your thoughts about the kombatants you'd like to see in the comments below and find more crossover action in the DC Universe Injustice forum. Or discuss your hopes & expectations for Mortal Kombat in the Future MK forum!

Fans of the very recently retro have something to cheer about with the long awaited return of the Xbox Backwards Compatibility program. Two MK titles from the 360 line-up have been added in the Xbox 20th Anniversary update, led by the Mortal Kombat reboot, which itself marked its 10th anniversary in April.

The ambiguously titled 2011 reboot rewrote reality as we knew it in the first Mortal Kombat game released under Warner Brothers Interactive Entertainment. It revamped, redesigned, and recontextualized material from the original trilogy -- redefining kombat for a new generation of players, in the process. Backwards compatibility means you'll be able to rediscover it all over again on Xbox Series X & S -- but you'll need to get your hands on a disc copy, for now.

MK2011 built upon a foundation laid three years earlier by the more controversial crossover title: Mortal Kombat versus DC Universe. It is the other kombat klassic supported in Xbox's final 76 game backwards compatibility update, which also includes three Dead Or Alive games, Quake Arena Arcade, and Ridger Racer 6. A complete list was reported by The Verge.

First revealed in a Mortal Kombat Online exclusive; the DC Comics crossover sent shockwaves throughout the fanbase even before it was known the eighth installment would need compromised finishing moves.

The troubled fighter fell short of many expectations, including the developers, who had plans to add Quan Chi and Harley Quinn to the modest playable roster, but its infamy may make it the more interesting excavation for nostalgic gamers.

The legacy of Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe continues to be found in NetherRealm Studios' latest releases. It was the first time they tackled the DC Injustice roster, and also pioneered the return to a 2D plane for fighting, and chapter based story modes. It was even the first time the developer worked on DLC -- even though it was never released!

[Related Article: Editorial: The MKvsDC Crossover Nobody Sees Coming]

Recent third-party data leaks have fueled rumors of a third Injustice game, while Creative Director Ed Boon recently started celebrating next year's Mortal Kombat 30th Anniversary early. Could more retro re-releases be in our future?

Share your thoughts about the Xbox 20th Anniversary Backwards Compatibility patch with us in the comments below, and reconnect with the recent past in the Mortal Kombat (2011) forum! Or crossover into another world in the DC Universe Injustice forum!

For a second year Ed Boon has been special guest in the DC FanDome. The NetherRealm Studios Creative Director joined actor Justin Hartley to discuss & preview the upcoming Injustice animated feature. Catch up on the special presentation right here:

The hit video game series has become a successful digital comic book and now an animated feature. Boon joined host, Geoff Keighley, in person, to discuss the unusual path of his DC Comics franchise, and Justin Hartley's performance as a Superman driven to absolute corruption by the human trauma of The Joker's sickening plot.

Batman voice actor Anson Mount (Star Trek Discovery) also made an appearance via video call to introduce a preview that shows the harrowing moment Superman falls for The Joker's grand scheme and makes a decision he can never undo.

The animated version offers a league of DC heroes who haven't appeared in either video game, drawing inspiration from the expansive tie-in comics, as well as introducing all new twists unique to the adaptation. Fans can still expect nods to the source, with Ed Boon noting his excitement at spotting some super moves from the video game.

[Related Article: Injustice Animated Movie Trailer Begins the Madness]

Some fans were disappointed not to hear the announcement of a third installment of the gaming franchise, but we tried to warn ya! Injustice is officially released to 4K HDTM Combo Pack, Blu-Ray, and digital starting October 19th!

Watch the red band trailer and share your thoughts in the comments! Find & discuss more from the Gods Among Us in the DC Universe Injustice forum. Or return to the NetherRealm with more from the recent WB Animation release Mortal Kombat Legends: Battle of the Realms!

Recent Mortal Kombat milestones have been a relatively sedate affair, but Ed Boon is getting ahead of next year's 30th Anniversary with archival footage from the original 1991 recording sessions. In his first clip he reveals the moment of inspiration that led to the creation of an iconic Scorpion attack -- the rope dart spear! Get over here and watch:

The footage sees live-action Scorpion actor Daniel Pesina receiving instructions from Boon and John Tobias as they navigate from concept to fully realised digitized motion. The credited co-creator shared this footage to his personal Twitter account with a series of tweets that elaborate on the historic moment.

The behind-the-scenes footage may make the creative process look improvised, but Boon notes that it wasn't always so off the cuff: "We certainly did a ton of prep for our video shoots, but some ideas came to us while filming." That preparation no doubt informed their ability to act on the idea, taking into consideration practical gameplay elements, such as speed and interaction with opponent sprites.

One of those details was how fast Scorpion threw the spear, which had to be quick so he could catch opponents by surprise. This meant keeping the animation simple & very few frames. We also wanted the spear to pass over a ducking opponent, so we kept it at chest height. (3/9)

— Ed Boon (@noobde) October 12, 2021

By keeping the rope dart level with shoulder height, it allowed for nuanced player reactions. Blocking will avoid the free hit with minimal damage, but ducking offered another quick defensive measure that allowed players to get back on the offensive.

Scorpion's fast throwing motion helped to maintain an element of surprise, but also kept frames of animation, and the memory required, to a limit. Boon explains, "We were so tight on memory, that we didn’t even capture any motions for the victim reactions. Instead we borrowed from their existing animation frames."

Mortal Kombat is well known for its economic application of reused existing assets: palette swapping notably helped allow Sub-Zero and Reptile to coexist in the game alongside Scorpion. Their iconic attacks might not have been possible without clever use of knockdown sprites for spear contact, and "fatality dizzy" animations for the stunned free-hit.

Boon waxes nostalgic about the footage, recounting some of the things that amuse him watching it thirty years later, including: "... hearing [John Tobias] describe how he wants to make the rope like a snake by saying “shh shh”." A concept Hollywood controversially took very literally in the 1995 feature film adaptation.

Perhaps even more amusing is Tobias' own reflective confession that he wasn't immediately a fan of the move! "[Boon] and I wanted to theme the ‘ninjas’ w fire and ice to differentiate them. So, when Ed had the idea for the rope/spear silly me wasn’t crazy about it because it wasn’t ‘fire’ themed. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯"

Ed also notes that there was more to completing the finished product, such as sound effects and his iconic battle cry: "GET OVER HERE!" A shout that earned the developer a Guinness World Record for longest running US voice actor in a video game!

Finally, while there was SO MUCH more involved with us creating this classic move (fx, sounds) it’s still kool to see the germ of an idea that eventually became so synonymous with Mortal Kombat, and duplicated SO MANY TIMES in future games, movies, tv, animation & comics! (8/9)

— Ed Boon (@noobde) October 12, 2021

The "fly on the wall" footage, as Boon calls it, is an incredible historical record that exists thanks to the games' unique graphical digitization process. It offers fans a tremendous insight into the series' past, and combats some of the misinformation Boon and Tobias have both been critical of in recent years.

Which moments from development of the original Mortal Kombat would you like to see in future installments? Share your thoughts about the invention of Scorpion's Spear in the comments below, and make like Marky Mark and keep those 1991 good vibrations going in the 2D Kombat Klassics forum!