Mortal Kombat Creator Might be Teasing a Marvel vs DC Fighting Game

Marvel vs Capcom Infinite‘s lackluster launch might still leave a sour taste on the back of fighting (and Marvel) games fans’ tongue to this day, however, a spark of hope seems to be coming from the developer behind Mortal Kombat, NetherRealm Studios. Mortal Kombat co-creator and creative director Ed Boon recently commented on James Gunn’s tweet regarding the release date for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, mentioning that the director has impressively managed to work on both “DC and Marvel movies.” This was then followed by a googly eyes emoji reply from Geoff Keighley, indicating that there’s more than meets the eye in this conversation. Marvel vs. DC fighting game, anyone?

This tease might also have something to do with last month’s rumor. In late April, an industry leaker Daniel Richman (behind a paywall, via Stealth Optional) claimed that NetherRealm Studios is currently working on a Marvel fighting game. According to Stealth Optional, he mentioned that the project is now already in the production stage but it’s still not clear whether or not it is actually going to be a Marvel vs. DC fighting game, though.

NetherRealm Studios first worked on a DC Comics-related fighting game Mortal Kombat vs. DC that was released in November 2008. Later, it released a standalone DC game, Injustice: Gods Among Us in 2013. The sequel, Injustice 2, launched in 2017. Despite the games no longer containing a crossover story, Boon and his team added Scorpion and Sub-Zero to each game as DLC guest characters.

Marvel is no stranger to crossover games as well. Since the ’90s, Capcom has worked on a number of Marvel Comics adaptations for the arcades, such as The Punisher and X-Men: Children of the Atom. From there the relationship between both companies blooms and culminates into the release of X-Men vs. Street Fighter in 1996. Capcom then expanded the roster by including a variety of its own and other Marvel characters in the worldwide phenomenon Marvel vs. Capcom series.

Meanwhile, both comic giants have also made a crossover miniseries called DC versus Marvel Comics (retitled into Marvel Comics versus DC in issues #2–3) in 1996. Additionally, DC and Marvel mashed up elements of their superheroes in the Amalgam Comics series in the same year, creating amalgamated characters like Doctor StrangeFate, Bruce Wayne: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D, and Lobo the Duck in the process. Although a Marvel vs. DC game from the Mortal Kombat creator isn’t 100% impossible, I still think it’s safer to assume it’s gonna be a standalone Marvel title like Injustice instead. Maybe with cameo or guest characters from the DC side since the studio is owned by Warner Bros. What do you think? Leave your thoughts (and wishes) in the comments.