The Mortal Kombat video games have often featured guest characters from iconic movies, and while it's unlikely that they'll feature in a Mortal Kombat film, two character appearances are shockingly possible. The Mortal Kombat movie series was rebooted in 2021, and though it wasn't a critical hit, it was an audience pleaser, delivering what fans of the games had wanted to see for decades: brutal, gory fatalities. The 2021 movie was full of characters ripping other characters' hearts out of their chests and spines out of their backs, and it even featured Kung Lao's iconic "buzzsaw kill" but the games get even more creative with the guest characters' fatalities.
It's actually totally plausible that the Mortal Kombat movie series could cross over with the DC universe, as Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe was a full game and both movie properties belong to Warner Bros. However, outside of the DC heroes and villains, very few of the guest characters in the game series are likely to appear in the movies. Of all of the dozens of guest characters, there are only two who could potentially appear in a Mortal Kombat movie, and given who they're, they'd be the least expected to show up in an R-rated gorefest but it'd actually work perfectly.
Scooby-Doo & Shaggy Are Technically Part Of The Mortal Kombat Universe
Shaggy and Scooby-Doo are officially canon in the Mortal Kombat universe, which is thanks to the 2021 animated movie, Mortal Kombat: Battle of the Realms. While the movie introduces new Mortal Kombat characters, in the beginning, Shaggy interacts with Scorpion. Scorpion jumps out of the Warner Bros. logo, excitedly pulling flips until Shaggy slams open the Warner Bros. logo, revealing a portal to another realm. Shaggy is glowing green and looks like one of the evil villains he and Scooby are usually investigating, and Scooby-Doo can be seen in the background too. Shaggy then chokes Scorpion and pulls him into a different realm.
This version of Shaggy goes by the name of "Ultra Instinct Shaggy," and while it's only a cameo, it still confirms that the wacky dynamic duo is a part of the Mortal Kombat universe and that Shaggy is surprisingly a force to be reckoned with. But Shaggy and the Mortal Kombat series' history dates back to 2019, as there was a fan petition to have the character added as a guest fighter for Mortal Kombat 11 in 2019. Mortal Kombat co-creator Ed Boon was all for it, retweeting some fan art (via Twitter). However, it unfortunately never happened, and it was even shot down by the game's community manager, Tyler Lansdown (via Nintendo Life).
Scooby-Doo & Shaggy Could Appear In A Future Mortal Kombat Movie
Even though Scooby-Doo and Shaggy were never available as guest fighters in the Mortal Kombat games, their appearance in Mortal Kombat: Battle of the Realms changes things. The Shaggy floodgates have opened, and he could not only feature in one of the games but in a Mortal Kombat movie too. While Scooby-Doo and Shaggy featuring in a Mortal Kombat movie seems strange, it's totally plausible. Out of all the guest characters in the Mortal Kombat series, Scooby-Doo and Shaggy are the only ones that belong to Warner Bros., so there’s no reason why they couldn’t appear in the franchise, even if it’s a brief cameo.
Crossover movies will only ever happen between characters that belong to the same studio. There are extenuating circumstances, such as Sony owning the rights to Spider-Man but striking a deal with Marvel Studios, leading to the character featuring in MCU movies. But that can get extremely complicated and negotiations often fall through when both studios are dissatisfied. And studios want to control how their characters are depicted, but that depiction might not work for the narrative. That ultimately means that Scooby-Doo and Shaggy are the only ones who can easily feature in a Mortal Kombat movie.
Scooby-Doo & Shaggy In A Mortal Kombat Movie Actually Makes Sense
Warner Bros. hasn’t been scared to create R-rated shows with beloved children’s cartoon characters, and that even includes Scooby-Doo, as Velma was an R-rated HBO Max release. Even though the HBO Max series has been universally panned, it was still a brave risk to turn a beloved kids' property into an R-rated show. Despite being disliked, Velma showed that Warner Bros. will do whatever it wants with the characters, and the studio has leaned into how meta it can be. And Scooby-Doo has always been full of innuendos and teased the characters' more mature lives, whether it's their sex lives or Scooby and Shaggy's drug use.
In that respect, an R-rated version of the characters has always made sense, even if simply hinting at it was what made it so funny. Seeing Scooby and Shaggy hopelessly wandering around the Netherrealm stoned and commentating on what they're seeing would fit perfectly. The two characters have always been hilarious when they’re reacting to weird, supernatural happenings, so an appearance in a Mortal Kombat movie creates the potential for infinite one-liners. However, though the cameo in Mortal Kombat: Battle of the Realms set up Shaggy as an all-powerful villain, seeing the stoner take part in an actual Mortal Kombat tournament might be a little too far.
Other Iconic Characters Should Appear In A Huge Mortal Kombat Crossover Event, But It’s Unlikely
While Scooby-Doo and Shaggy are the likeliest outside characters to feature in a Mortal Kombat movie, there are way more guest characters who should appear in a film before the talking dog and his owner. Some of Mortal Kombat's guest fighters that have appeared throughout the series include the Xenomorph from Alien, the Predator, Robocop, and so many other iconic movie characters. It'd be an absolute spectacle and the best possible fan service to see any one of those characters in a tournament in a live-action Mortal Kombat movie. Unfortunately, the chances of them featuring in the cinematic universe are slim-to-none because they all belong to studios other than Warner Bros.
As Warner Bros. is developing multiple Mortal Kombat movies, one of them could be an epic movie crossover event, and there'd be nothing better than seeing these iconic characters pulling off fatalities on each other. The studios could collaborate to bring it to life, just like how Sony and Marvel Studios collaborated to develop Spider-Man: Homecoming and its sequels. However, as Alien belongs to 20th Century Studios, Robocop belongs to MGM, Terminator belongs to StudioCanal, and all of the other guest characters belong to other studios, the negotiations would be an impossible logistical nightmare.