'Mortal Kombat 11: Aftermath' to feature RoboCop voiced by Peter Weller from the original 1987 film
‘Infinity War’ is no longer the “most ambitious crossover event in history.” It’s ‘Mortal Kombat 11: Aftermath’. After adding the ‘Batman’ villain The Joker and the Terminator T-800 (it definitely does look like Arnold Schwarzenegger) to the upcoming edition of the fantasy-themed fighting game, we have yet another addition that has blown fans’ minds like one of game’s “fatalities”. It’s RoboCop!
‘Mortal Kombat’ developer NetherRealm has a history of including popular culture staples into the game. DLC (downloadable content) characters for ‘Mortal Kombat 10’ included Jason Voorhees of the ‘ Friday the 13th’ franchise, Predator, the Xenomorph from ‘Alien’, and Leatherface from ‘The Texas Chainsaw Massacre’.
If you don’t know who RoboCop is, chances are you’re too young to play the violent and bloody video game that is ‘Mortal Kombat’. Robocop is Alex Murphy, a Detroit, Michigan police officer, who was mortally wounded in the line of duty and transformed into a powerful cyborg at the behest of a powerful mega-corporation, Omni Consumer Products. What started with a 1987 film (and a successful one at that) spawned a whole cyberpunk franchise with sequels, merchandise, and an animated series.
According to reports, the NetherRealm team even worked with Peter Weller, the actor who played the titular RoboCop in the 1987 film, to recreate and voice his character. Robocop will arrive in ‘Mortal Kombat 11’ in the ‘Aftermath’ expansion, which picks up after the conclusion of the original ‘Mortal Kombat 11’ story. Liu Kang has finished Kronika. He and Raiden are at the dawn of time, where they prepare to use Kronika’s “Hourglass” to restart history. But those preparations are halted when some unexpected guests arrive: Fujin, Nightwolf, and Shang Tsung.
In the game’s official reveal trailer for the expansion, RoboCop makes an appearance at the very end, not quite revealing his role in the story, but promising a fun gameplay nonetheless. GameSpot reported that while details on RoboCop's move-set and abilities in battle were not specified, NetherRealm devs stated in a chat before the reveal that RoboCop will be able to use his iconic side-arm, along with several other skills and weaponry--including a shoulder-mounted cannon.
A blog on the official website for PlayStation noted, “The new chapters in time-twisting narrative of ‘Mortal Kombat 11: Aftermath’ allowed us to give Nightwolf, Fujin, and Sheeva their most sizable roles in any Mortal Kombat game to date. We get to learn more about what drives them, from Fujin’s devotion to Earthrealm’s mortals to Sheeva’s undying loyalty to her empress, Sindel. The story also allows us to see these incredible fighters in action.”
The blog added, “RoboCop has been a big influence on the creative endeavors of many here at NetherRealm. I don’t think any of us thought we would get a chance to expand his lore or work with the great Peter Weller to bring his RoboCop back to fans. Once we had that chance, we were determined to make the most of it.”
Fans went nuts over this reveal. One of them shouted on Twitter, “Peter Weller is doing the voice for RoboCop in the game oh my f****** god I'm gonna c**.” Another noted, “Terminator, Spawn, RoboCop, Joker, all in one bloody fighting game holy s***.”
‘Mortal Kombat 11: Aftermath’ will be available digitally first on May 26.