A dull boy
Chance: 18%
Jack Torrance is the protagonist of the Stanley Kubrick horror film The Shining. A frustrated writer battling with alcoholism and domestic stagnation, Jack takes his wife Wendy and son Danny to a retreat at the Overlook Hotel, which is closing for the winter and needs a caretaker. What he hopes will be a break instead takes a turn for the sinister, as his past, the hotel's origins, Danny's skills and an unfortunate storm all combine to turn Jack into a deranged killer who might have gone insane, or might be under the influence of something far, far worse...
The Shining is considered a masterpiece for Stanley Kubrick (high praise when considering his other works) and is frequently considered one of, if not the scariest movie of all time. While it initially received middling reviews and moderate box office, it was reappraised and is now considered a must watch for any lovers of the medium. It's kind of a legendary movie in many regards, from its characters and quotes, to unforgettable moments like the twins, the elevator full of blood, or "all work and no play" (just to name a few), and of course the iconic and labyrinthine Overlook, one of the great film locations – even the floor pattern is iconic. Countless analysis have been written about the meaning of the movie and what exactly is real in it, and if you've seen it, you'll probably have your own takeEveryone has likely been exposed to an element of The Shining, that is the scope of its impact.
Now, granted, a lot of movies are big. But would WB concern themselves with this cult classic from 1980? Yes, they would, for a couple of reasons. One: The Shining is totally a franchise now. It had a sequel, Doctor Sleep, release in 2019, and plans exists for anything from sequels to spin-offs to prequels both in film and television. Turns out Stephen King adaptations are super hot and when you have the rights to something as iconic as the Overlook, well you start coming up with ideas to use it. Two: Ready Player One. The famous crossover of everything nerdy had an extended sequence taking place in a recreation of the Overlook, lovingly recreated. While this was a Spielberg film and the sequence an homage from him to his good friend and collaborator, it's still putting Kubrick on the same level as Street Fighter, Back to the Future, and all the other pop culture touchstones. So I don't think WB sees it as a sacred cow or something untouchable.
With that in mind, Jack is admittedly just a regular guy who goes loony, but... well, who else would represent it? Nicholson as Torrance is iconic and I don't see any other viable characters unless they take a lot of liberties to make Danny or Abra a straight up PK kid. There's enough to make Jack work (and play).
Want: 100%
The Shining is just so freaking good. It gets better every time you watch it honestly. In this day of elevated horror that scares you with meaning, the greatest example might still be the OG. Shining is absolutely terrifying, and the way it does it is by disorienting the viewer completely and ratcheting up the tension to the point where you can't keep up and then BAM. You scared. But when you already know what happens (or, allegedly happens) you can see it in so many new lenses, focused on the many different aspects that never quite fit together completely but instead lead down their own avenues. How much of The Shining is meant to be literal? Are the ghosts real or is it all in everyone's heads? What is the Overlook? What's the nature of Jack? Does anyone involved have free will or is the entire event a twisted fate? Is it a metaphor for filmmaking? Marriage and masculinity? The slaughter of Native Americans? Did Kubrick fake the Moon landing? There's no getting to the bottom of all this symbolism and that makes for a movie that is timeless.
Jack Nicholson is a legend who delivers a performance as one of the all-time great horror villains (if he can even be considered that) and I think he totally deserves to be immortalized in this manner. If Freddy and Jason et al are down the road, then I want a showdown with Jack Torrance. Let us prove that maybe the greatest monsters aren't the undead and the supernatural.
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The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent
Chance: 12%
Johnny Cage is one of the most popular MK characters and most important canon-wise in both timelines. He's one of the originals. He was also considered big enough to leave as the big end-credits tease in the MK movie (tbf that was also probably to combat backlash for him not appearing even though the main character might as well have been replaced by him). I think everyone involved knows how much people care about him.
Still, Mortal Kombat will probably get Scorpion and Sub-Zero. After them, who knows if they will go for a third character? You could argue the franchise is well represented with the ninjas. Even if they decide to go for a third, Johnny isn't a lock with competition like Liu Kang, Sonya Blade, Raiden, Shao Khan, Jax, Kano, Kung Lao, there's tons of franchise stalwarts that have as big a claim to fame as Johnny. He has proven incredibly popular and WB is clearly aware of that but who knows if that's enough to give him an edge.
Want: 100%
Yes I do want to punch Lebron in the nuts
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Warner Bros.
Chance: 100%
This is a silly topic to discuss, Warner Bros. owns the game so of course they'd be-
gets slapped
Oh. Those Warner Brothers.
Chance: 80%
I think they'd be crazy not to.
So, Animaniacs. Anarchic, no-holds-barred, genre-defining Animaniacs. One of the defining cartoons of the 90s, which, along with Tiny Toon Adventures, dragged the Looney Tunes and Warner Bros. Animation by the neck right into relevance. It had crazy good ratings, making Fox Kids not only competitive but a winner (doubling the ratings of competition like Darkwing Duck). It was also highly acclaimed and had a sizable adult fandom (which, according to Wikipedia, was one of the first online fandoms!) It would eventually spawn a spin-off (Pinky and the Brain), a spin-off of the spin-off (just add Elmyra to the former), a movie, and now a modern revival (which is apparently really good and I really need to watch).
Wakko, Yakko and Dot have over 100 episodes of cartoon anarchy to pull moveset ideas from. They're beloved by multiple generations of fans and have, to my knowledge, posted tons of demand for a playable spot for this game. Animaniacs is still relevant with the revival being in its third season. So, yeah, I think the powers that be would have to be totally insaney to miss out on this one. So why the (relatively) low score of 80%?
Well, and this is just me playing Devil's advocate, but there are a couple of minor hiccups that could lead to exclusion. Animaniacs isn't completely WB owned. Amblin, Steven Spielberg's production company, was behind its creation and shares ownership. Weird that characters called the Warners aren't owned by Warner but yeah, them's the breaks. Now Spielberg is a free agent with fingers in every pie. As a director alone: his upcoming film The Fabelmans is to be produced by Universal, but his latest, West Side Story, was at Disney/20th Century, and the one before that was Ready Player One at WB. That's not even getting into his countless producing credits. So the Animaniacs could probably be licensed, it'd just cost money. Unless WB owns the name and likeness to Lebron James now, the game definitely can afford it. Another issue could be that the Animaniacs revival is going strong... at Hulu. Disney-owned Hulu (oh the irony). Maybe WB doesn't want to give a rival streaming service free advertising, and instead decide to spotlight their other incredibly popular 90s cartoon that has a modern revival that will air on HBO Max instead (Tiny Toons. I- I'm talking about Tiny Toons.) Again, just advocating for Mr. Satan here! I feel confident they'll go this path because much like Beetlejuice the demand and moveset potential is too strong and too glaring to ignore. But there are outside forces at play (Spielberg and Disney are not forces to be trifled with).
Personally I'd like to see them do all three siblings as one fighter. But that's just because I've been jonesing for a trio fighter in a game like this ever since the Chorus Kids got cut. But I'm open to any interpretation of them the devs would do.
Want: 100%
I absolutely adore Animaniacs. One of my favorite animated shows ever. I'd like to get into why with detail but that would take a lot of time and I have to board a plane.
Noms: Elvis
