Mortal Kombat 1 is both a reboot of the saga and a continuation of old stories. Many characters are reimagined, while others remain on similar paths, but this keeps being Mortal Kombat to the core.
Just like the story of the game, the voice actors are a mix of the old and the new, with some celebrity choices that change the meaning of what a cameo has been in the saga. The quality of the dialogue is still top-notch, no matter if you dive deep into the lore or if you just hear the character intros before a match.
9 Kenshi – Vic Chao
Vic Chao reprises his role as Kenshi, the blind swordsman who is yet to lose his sight at the beginning of the game. As you can expect from the theme of the game, the identity of Kenshi will remain much the same, blade in hand and all.
Vic is no stranger to the Mortal Kombat universe, since he not only voiced Kenshi before, but also other characters like Sektor and Goro. He’s also been in other gaming-related projects, mostly as a supporting cast in titles like Ghost of Tsushima, Final Fantasy 7 Remake, and Marvel’s Midnight Suns.
8 Nitara – Megan Fox
Likely the second most recognizable name on the cast, Megan Fox is an actress best known for her role in the Transformers movies. In Mortal Kombat 1, she gives her voice and likeness to Nitara, a vampire demon first introduced in Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance.
While Megan has experience playing blood-related monsters (see Jennifer’s Body), her experience doesn’t seem to translate so well to the voice-acting medium. Still, it is a pleasure to see characters from lesser-known MK games make a return, no matter in what form.
7 Kitana And Mileena – Kari Wahlgren
Reprising her role as both Kitana and Mileena is Kari Wahlgren, a very prolific actress with roles all over the industry, appearing in Cyberpunk 2077, Gotham Nights, and Guild Wars 2, to just name a few. Like in all her roles, she does a fantastic job voicing both characters, making you doubt at times if it is her doing all the voices.
While the same actress voicing two characters might seem strange (especially in two games in a row), this has been true with the two ‘sisters’ for quite some time, since the lore always has Mileena be a clone of Kitana, albeit with some toothy differences. In the games, they tend to be the counter-pick of the other.
6 Kung Lao – Sunil Malhotra
Kung Lao and his hat return in Mortal Kombat 1, once again voiced by Sunil Malhotra. The character and his bladed hat are a staple of the series, even if his story has him start on a more humble beginning. Still, his hat-centric fatalities will make a sure return.
Sunil is not only known for his role as Kung Lao, but he also gave his voice to one of League of Legends characters, Akshan. More recently has had a supportive role in Critical Role’s animated show as Gilmore, the owner of the city’s main magical shop.
5 Liu Kang – Matthew Yang King
Liu Kang makes a glowing return to the series as the one leading the change. He’s changed and has even ascended to godhood, being the one behind the creation of the new timeline. Yet with all those changes, his voice remains the same, since Matthew Yang King returns to play the martial artist.
Matthew has plenty of work under his belt, with roles as recent as the Elemental movie, and within gaming, you’ll find his voice in titles ranging from Diablo 4 to Death Stranding. Like many voice actors, you might be surprised by how many movies you can end up seeing him.
4 Sub-Zero – Kaiji Tang
With so much of the old cast being maintained, it seemed strange that Sub-Zero’s actor would change, yet a lot of the character is no longer the same. In Mortal Kombat 1, the role is voiced by Kaiji Tang, and no one can deny that he captures the essence of the Lin Kuei elder.
Kaiji has plenty of recognizable roles, most prominently as Ichiban Kasuga in the Yakuza series, a role that has become a leading one thanks to Yakuza: Like A Dragon. As a plus, he has even played Vegeta in the Dragon Ball Super anime.
3 Scorpion – Ron Yuan
Scorpion is a character that underwent the most changes since the last Mortal Kombat, to the point that the name behind the mask is completely different. He’s now Sub-Zero’s brother, and while their rivalry will continue all the same, the new context is a welcome change.
With so many differences, one would expect a different voice actor, yet that’s not the case; Ron Yuan returns once more to give his voice to the most popular character in the games. Ron also has plenty of support roles in other games like Yakuza and Diablo 4.
2 Smoke – Yuri Lowenthal
Casual fans of the saga might see it odd that Smoke is now a ninja instead of a cyborg, but this is actually how his story began. Whether future games will have him return to his metal-covered look is unclear, but what we do know is that Yuri Lowenthal does an excellent job as Smoke.
Yuri has plenty of accredited roles across the industry, but his most notable ones are as Peter Parker in Insomniac’s Spider-Man (he even appeared in Spider-Man: Across The Spiderverse), Yosuke Hanamura in Persona 4, and Sasuke Uchiha in all the Naruto video games.
1 Johnny Cage – Andrew Bowen And Jean-Claude Van Damme
Johnny Cage players will be spoiled for choice in Mortal Kombat 1, since with a readily available skin they can have Johnny look and sound just like Jean-Claude Van Damme. This is of particular note since the whole concept of Johnny was based around Jean-Claude movies, so having him play the role feels like going full circle.
For the story mode, however, Andrew Bowen will be reprising the role he’s been playing for over ten years, and it suits him. While Johnny Cage might have been originally based on Van Damme, it’s Andrew Bowen who brings the character to life, and it shows throughout his whole performance during the campaign.