It's a pretty simple equation: There are going to be 2 guest characters in Mortal Kombat X and one of them is a Predator. The other one must be the Xenomorph of Alien franchise fame then - right?.. Wrong.
In what seems like a two-prong masterstroke of viral provocation and legendary pranking: NetherRealm stocked their Kombat Pack with two characters famously tied to absent big screen rivals -- Jason Voorhees leading the charge as the other DLC guest.
The Friday the 13th slasher was a hotly requested commodity during the previous game's download cycle, inspired partly by the presence of slasher nemesis: Freddy Kreuger. If you're a long-lived Nightmare on Elm Street fan, you probably have the dark sense of humor to appreciate the hilarity of dividing two horror icons -- and stars of Freddy versus Jason -- between separate games.
The question now - will the same fate befall sci-fi cinema's Predator and Alien?
In August, the Alien has certainly been on Creative Director Ed Boon's mind. On-going news regarding a soft reboot in a fifth Alien film inspired musings about the success of repeat visits to the franchise. On August 16th, he remarked; "All those remakes failed to rejuvenate their franchises, and while Aliens is my favorite action movie of all time... despite how the last 2 were disappointments... I wonder if they should just leave the Alien franchise alone."
It seems Uncle Ed has grown tired of reboots that don't quite hit the balance of honoring and reinvigorating their brands, "After remakes/reboots of Robocop, Total Recall and Terminator I'm finding it hard to get excited about Alien 5." A sentiment many shared after the Alien vs Predator concept made its way to film - twice - under maligned direction by Paul Anderson, and the brothers Strause. [Related Article: Paul Anderson on Mortal Kombat and Film Adaptation]
On the surface, Boon's critiques sound like arguments against including the Xenomorph as Mortal Kombat DLC, but the finer details present nuanced arguments in different directions.
Xenophobia: The Alien stalks players in Sega's Alien: Isolation.
It's worth noting the Alien experience was rejuvenated just last year -- through video games, no less -- when Sega delivered critically celebrated survival horror: Alien: Isolation.
The game put players in the unenviable role of Amanda Ripley - a character referenced in deleted scenes from [James] Cameron's Aliens, and daughter to Sigourney Weaver's iconic film heroine: Ellen Ripley.
By tapping in to the tone, presentation and lore of the first two films; Isolation found new ways to inspire fear and excitement from the menace of the alien. All of this goes to show the interactive experience of video games can add a rejuvenating twist that diminishing film sequels cannot.
Of course, the success of Isolation came very much from restoring distanced respect to Ridley Scott's original veiled, lurking threat -- a perspective the fixed screen of fighting games fundamentally denies. Putting players in control of the Xenomorph may pose serious challenges to the developer if respecting the prestige of the concept is at all the aim.
The Mortal Kombat co-creator notes his favourite instalment is Cameron's action-oriented sequel: Aliens. The leap from mauling gun-toting space marines to Mortal Kombat's Special Forces certainly isn't a stretch for the imagination. The alien doesn't necessarily scream three Variations of hand-to-hand combat, either, but viewed through the prism of Scott to Cameron, maybe Mortal Kombat X can be the action sequel to Isolation's atmospheric precursor.
Besides - who could say no to a face hugger projectile or chest burster fatality?
On the flipside: Having one icon and not the other has proven to be an undeniably successful carrot-on-a-stick for NetherRealm and Warner Bros.
Guest character speculation and wishlists have brought Mortal Kombat X major mainstream coverage, and intense fan interest on forums like Mortal Kombat Online. This could cynically be viewed as the ultimate pre-promotional tool, extending awareness and engagement with Mortal Kombat into the next game's cycle. After all, we were talking about Jason & Predator as early as E3 2014! It's a little Weyland-Yutani, but it speaks to the very nature of using crossover characters to attract attention.
Maintaining the metaphor would make Ed Boon the Paul Reiser of the scheme, fuelling speculation with three days of Alien memes straight outta: John Hurt on the 18th, Kombat Pack 2 on the 19th, and the Lion King on the 20th.
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Mixed metaphors would make these tweets face huggers - impregnating fandom with gestating alien mania waiting to explode sometime circa 2019. Are they confirmation of downloadable content on the horizon? Not really. That's not a NetherRealm character model, and these tweets aren't percentage significant proof that Alien is in development. That's not to say it isn't, either!
From the running Character Dead Pool, to our oft cited eight-month forecast for Brazil Skins & Klassic Fatalities -- Ed Boon is a font of early information, if you know where to look. There's enough proverbial 'Alien smoke' to warrant speculation. Until we get a trailer with an ominous heart beat, drifting close-ups toward kombatant's chests, and a bursting baby alien that announces DLC is coming -- we just can't guarantee it.
Is an alien egg waiting to hatch? Register to join the ravenous speculation on the Mortal Kombat X forum! Infect your friends by liking & sharing this story via @MK_Online and Facehuggerbook!
