Ed Boon Would Love to See a Street Fighter Character in Mortal Kombat, Plays Down Rivalry

Mortal Kombat co-creator Ed Boon has revealed his wishlist for future guest characters in the fighting game series.

In a new interview with Collider while promoting the Mortal Kombat 2 movie, Boon confirmed another Mortal Kombat game is being planned at NetherRealm, but failed to share details. However, when asked which guest characters he wanted to see in the future, he mentioned Street Fighter, which, if it were to actually happen, would finally provide fighting game fans with the crossover they’ve been waiting 30 years for.

“I would love to see a Street Fighter character in Mortal Kombat. I’m a huge fan of Street Fighter,” Boon said. “We’ve had Joker as a really dark character, but DC and Marvel, it would be a lot of fun to see those characters as well.”

Mortal Kombat is famous for its guest characters, which typically skew on the more violent side of entertainment. Fans have already seen the likes of The Terminator, Ghostface, and Rambo guest star in Mortal Kombat. Perhaps, if Marvel were to give the green light, Deadpool and Wolverine would be a good fit.

But is it likely that any of this would actually happen? A Mortal Kombat vs Street Fighter game has been talked about for years, but there’s no indication Capcom would ever go for it. Street Fighter is nowhere near as gory as Mortal Kombat, which, if it were to have the likes of Ryu and Chun-Li included, would have to see them ripped to shreds.

Boon also touched on the rivalry between Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter, which began in the playgrounds of the early ’90s and was recently thrust back into the headlines when new movies based on both franchises began their marketing push. Andrew Shultz, who plays Dan Hibiki in the upcoming Street Fighter film, delivered a fresh jab at the 2025 Game Awards, where the comedian claimed that the Mortal Kombat team “only care about money,” while excusing their absence from attending the award show to promote their film.

Speaking to Collider, Boon called the rivalry “fun,” and insisted there are “no hard feelings.” “At the end of the day, I think we’ll see, when both films have been released, how they both did and stuff. But honestly, I’d love to see them both do well, just because there’s an audience for more, which would be great,” he said.

And on the subject of Marvel, NetherRealm is owned by Warner Bros. Games, which owns DC (NetherRealm’s next game is rumored to be DC fighting game Injustice 3). It seems more likely that a DC guest star will pop into Mortal Kombat, rather than a rival character owned by Marvel. Of course, NetherRealm released Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe in 2008, so it knows what it means to have Sub-Zero fight Batman.

Cade Onder is a freelancer for IGN’s news team. He covers all things entertainment, including gaming, film, and more. You can find him on Twitter @Cade_Onder.