Mortal Kombat 11 Voice Actors Who Were Replaced And No One Noticed
As gaming becomes more mainstream, gaming culture is also rising in popularity. Gone are the days of anonymous voice actors; now that they attend fan conventions, start their own podcasts and YouTube shows, and branch out into screen acting, these voices behind our favorite characters are becoming more recognizable. But with the rising popularity of voice actors in gaming comes the unfortunate acknowledgement that sometimes, they get replaced.
When a voice actor has been portraying a character in a franchise for several installments, they usually have a reasonable amount of job security. When an actor parts ways with a franchise, it's often due to time constraints, other responsibilities, or even, sometimes, some bad blood. But with the release of the new Mortal Kombat 11 game right around the corner, it seems a whole handful of Mortal Kombat staple actors were replaced, and very few people noticed. And in some instances, the voice actors themselves didn't even notice until they saw their character portrayed by someone else. With a significant amount of new voice actors on the roster, here are some that were replaced in Mortal Kombat 11 that you didn't even notice.
Sonya Blade
Sonya Blade has been a staple of the Mortal Kombat franchise since its inception. As the first woman in the otherwise all-male series, Sonya brought a unique diversity to the brutal games. She has appeared in countless iterations of the series and is slated to appear in the newest installment, Mortal Kombat 11. As the mother of one of the franchise's newer fan-favorites, Cassie Cage, Sonya is an integral part of the stories.
In the past, Sonya has been voiced by many people, the first of which was Elizabeth Malecki. She was even voiced by well-known Commander Shepard voice actress Jennifer Hale at one point. But the most recent version of Sonya Blade was seen in Mortal Kombat X when Tricia Helfer portrayed the strong-willed heroine. Having so many different actresses portray one character can make it difficult to get attached to any one portrayal. But the change made in Mortal Kombat 11 is noteworthy because of the fame attached to her new voice.
Wrestler Ronda Rousey will be lending her voice to Sonya for the eleventh installment of the Mortal Kombat franchise. Rousey has been a long time fan of Sonya Blade, since she was one of the first fighting females Rousey could look up to in gaming. The wrestler even went as far as to say that voicing Blade was a dream come true.
Scorpion
Just like Sonya Blade, Scorpion is a character synonymous with the Mortal Kombat franchise. But unlike Blade, Scorpion has had relatively few voice actors portray him over the years. The most well-known and generally associated with Scorpion is voice actor Patrick Seitz. Seitz voiced the yellow-clad ninja in four different installments, and fans have widely accepted him as the Scorpion. This is why it was so confusing when Mortal Kombat 11 was announced without Patrick Seitz being involved.
Seitz took to Twitter at one point to let fans know that he had no idea the game was even in the making. He also couldn't explain why he hadn't been contacted about playing Scorpion once more, since no one from the developers had told him anything about the project. With Ron Yuan as the new voice of Scorpion, fans are left wondering why Mortal Kombat 11 has made such a point of recasting many of its staple actors without their knowledge. It seems like after four games together, a simple phone call or email would at least be in order.
Cassie Cage
One of the newest playable characters of the Mortal Kombat franchise is Cassie Cage, the daughter of Sonya Blade and Johnny Cage. With such a grand legacy to live up to, it's amazing how quickly Cassie's wit and easygoing personality endeared fans of the games to her. Even though Mortal Kombat X was her first appearance, she's already become a fan-favorite, earning quite the following. So it isn't too surprising that there isn't a voice actor who is necessarily known for being Cassie. But just as with other characters in the franchise, developers have shaken things up once again with Mortal Kombat 11.
In the previous installment of the fighting game, Cassie was voiced by Ashly Burch. However, Burch, who brought a youthful and witty personality to Cage, didn't seem to make the cut for the sequel. In the latest game, Cassie will be voiced by Erica Lindbeck, giving the relatively new character her first overhaul. The reasoning behind recasting Cassie Cage's character hasn't been made public, but it's only the latest in a slew of turnover in the cast. But from what has been released from the trailer, it looks like Cassie will still retain her sarcastic and youthful personality that fans have come to love.
Liu Kang
If any character can be considered a main staple of the Mortal Kombat franchise, it's Liu Kang. Kang has appeared in every main Mortal Kombat game since the very first title debuted. As arguably one of the most recognizable characters in the games, it's no surprise that Liu Kang has been a fan favorite over the years. Because of how frequently he appears in the franchise, however, his character has seen many different voice actors. The most recent was Tom Choi, who lent his acting chops to the deadly fighter in Mortal Kombat X. But it seems that Choi wasn't safe from the massive actor recast that happened with Mortal Kombat 11.
According to a confirmed cast list on IMDB, in the newest game, Liu Kang will be voiced by Matthew Yang King. As with many others on this list, it isn't known exactly why the recast happened, but based on the character reveal trailer, King will bring Liu Kang's character to life in his own unique way. Because this character has been recast so often in the past, it's possible many fans won't even notice the change.
Kano
As the first member of the Black Dragon to appear in the Mortal Kombat games, and a character that dates all the way back to the arcade days, Kano is a well-known player in the deathmatch. Kano's character design changes dramatically from one installment to the next, with his clothing seeing many different iterations. But even with the frequent costume swaps, Kano has seen relatively small turnover in voice actors in relation to the number of games he's appeared in.
In three different games in which Kano has appeared, he has been voiced by Michael McConnohie. Because of this, it was a bit surprising when IMDB confirmed that Kano would not be voiced by Michael McConnohie in Mortal Kombat 11. Instead, the mantel has been passed on to JB Blanc. With yet another character design, it's only fitting that a new voice be assigned to the fighter. But even though a new iteration is an exciting prospect, McConnohie's absence is still going to be an adjustment as fans had become accustomed to hearing his voice when playing their favorite Black Dragon member.
Noob Saibot
While most of the characters in the Mortal Kombat franchise have interesting backstories, none seem to be quite as complicated as that of Noob Saibot. Originally named Bi-Han, Noob Saibot was actually the original Sub-Zero. He was sometimes referred to as Elder Sub-Zero to keep confusion to a minimum when discussing the overall timeline. In the first game, Bi-Han (or Sub-Zero) was killed by Scorpion after he was resurrected by Quan Chi. After his death, Bi-Han relinquished the title of Sub-Zero and became an incarnation of evil, removing all parts of himself that made him human. This made him one of the most ruthless and effective killers in the game.
With his new name, Noob Saibot, he was seen as a secret character in Mortal Kombat 2 and was playable in Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3. Though this particular character has seen many iterations through his complicated history, he is another staple of the franchise who has had relatively few changes in voice actors. With Jamieson Price voicing Saibot in the 2011 Mortal Kombat game (also referred to as MK9), the return of this particular character has brought a new voice actor with it. Sean Chiplock will be bringing the character of Noob Saibot to life in the newest title. Or at least, as much as he can give the terrifying wraith "life."