So this is interesting! On Reddit a couple days ago, user KeyConstruction8 posted leaked information about a cancelled Cartoon Network series from Warner Bros. called Mortal Kombat Ultra Girls, based on the popular videogame franchise – including a detailed plot synopsis and character designs. Obviously, take all of this with a huge grain of salt, but it does seem legit. However, if is indeed a troll job, it's definitely an elaborate one, so would be commendable regardless.
Anyway, you can check out the post below, which includes potential pitches for other unproduced, kid-based MK cartoons:
#ReleaseMortalKombatUG
WB has been sitting on MK Ultra Girls for a while now. I took these photos a while back during dailies. This is the pilot episode, but 52 episodes each at about 11 min were planned with different designs. WB got cold feet and we don't know if this will actually get released or entirely finished. Most of the boards and voices are done but not the last half of eps animation. We have 26 done and want them out.
New executives came in while the ones who green lit the show have left long ago. They might just shelve this due to backlash from parents or fans. They promised to announce this publicly after Scorpions Revenge and it has yet to happen.
MKUG spawned from a higher up who was amendment that the franchise is marketable beyond extreme violence. It worked for the 1990s movie. He grew up with stuff like Robocop and the Rambo cartoons, so they saw the potential with merchandising. They already planned a line of figures and a mobile game that reskins the IOS MK free to play game. They did okay getting these designs in 3D but it's far from done. Progress has halted on the game which is also effecting the show.
Why am I leaking a show most people will hate? Because we were proud of the amount of freedom we got making this. Once you get over the hurdle of the license we feel this was something fans would have loved.
A regular episode follows new student Cassie Cage or her friends. They're assigned to fight or do Shaolin Showdown style challenges with student of the opposite school faction. Winners gamble the Crypt Coins they've found. What the coins are for are revealed later.
The episodes slowly get more serialized. First pitched as Mortal Kombat Friendship, MKUG takes place after multiple timeline resets caused by Blaze during Armageddon. In this new timeline the warriors were shown all the previous canons. Many characters want Armageddon to happen again so they can start a new life. Others want to prevent the reset so they can continue the life they have. The 2 split into factions of Reset or Continue.
This time Armageddon is scheduled to happen many years after it once did. The warriors are getting too old to fight. So, Shang Sung forms a high school to train a younger generation. He pits them against each other in Reset or Continue factions. Who's ever team gets the most Crypt Coins will be the ones to decide their future should they win their final battle against Blaze.
This is not fully a comedy. That took a bit of fighting on the show runner's part to get this story. No we don't insult old fans in this show. It's a girl focused series but we wanted everyone to enjoy it.
Cassie Cage, Jackie Briggs, and Frost are the main 3. They're the focus but we cram in every character we could. Other students include Mileena, Katana, Jade, Takeda, Sheva, Kidd Thunder, Erron black who's dating Nitara, Scarlet, Reiko, and Scorpion's son who's a zombie in this show. There's a lot of gallows type humor that pushes PG. We had a lot of freedom on this. But no blood or guns. Cassie basically uses “Green Energy spirit guns” as one of the supervising director puts it. The MK Ultra title pun was intentional with this shows humor. WB loves that humor. Thunder Cat Roar's theme song is a pre existing song called Drugs, Neko for pete's sake. Bo Rai Cho is just called Bo here. Meat is a test subject used in their science class. It was hard to get pass with S&P but they allowed it when we pointed out Adventure Time did skinless humans.
Inclusions that were my favorite are Striker as a hall monitor no one listens to. Rain the pretty boy popular kid. Of course Johnny, Sonya, and Jax are the main characters supportive parents. Kobra is a karate instructor that lives in a trailer and was essentially rewritten to be a fusion of Dan from Street Fighter and Rex Quando.
The 1st games characters are teachers. Kano, Lou Kang, Scorpion, Sub Zero, and Raiden are all teachers for different factions. Their offices and class rooms are full of MK and Midway easter eggs.
Speaking of, the show actually nabbed a few of the voice actors from the movies and games. The soundtrack also recycles from them with mostly techno and Chinese percussions similar to the 1st game. However, that may have changed since some of it was just temp music. That's up to Warner Chappell. I forget the name but we got some JRock band to do the intro. Was gonna be Baby Metal but we got some newer group.
Other facts, We had crew nights watching Bruce Lee and Van Damme and other movies for both fun and inspiration.
1 of our crew members loves Sindel and other mom characters like Dexter's Mom. We wrote such an emotional flashback episode for her saying goodbye to Kitana and marrying Shao Khan. MK11's Sindel wasn't out yet but when she did that crew member did not take it well. We all joked about writing more Sindel episodes out of spite.
MK Ultra Girls had a long development after several ideas for a kid or teen focused reboot kept getting shot down.
Some rejected ideas included a revamped continuation of the 1990s cartoon Defenders of the Realm, but WB and New Line Cinema could not agree on something. I’m guessing it was merchandising, I was brought on later so I wouldn’t know. That show's not worth bringing back.
The next idea was to have an open call for WB artists to come up with a pitch. Here are some of the ones I remember:
-MK Ultra Girls
-Several Teen Titans Go / Thundercats Roar variations but WB wanted to expand out of that demo.
-An teen action show similar to Young Justice inspired by MKX's story but WB wanted something less serious.
-Same as above for a Shaolin Monks type buddy action series.
-Scooby Doo enters the MK tournament was joked around but I doubt anyone actually pitched that. WB would probably do it if more teen or kid oriented MK stuff was made first.
-There was a fun monster of the week type idea that wanted emphasis on Shao Khan as the main antagonists with him sending bad guys to fight within the Earthrealm. We follow the story of young warriors training to defeat the Netherrealm and keep the several worlds at peace as so did their ancestors. Cage, Lou, and Sonya were teenagers trained under Raiden.
-A friend tried "Johnny Bravo meets Tropic Thunder" (Their words not mine) type comedy where Johnny Cage has to survive the entire MK Trilogy time line while thinking it's a movie.
-A MAD or Robot Chicken style skit show all about the series which was seen as far too niche.
Now, I know how a lot of people on here will (predictably and boringly) negatively respond to a franchise like Mortal Kombat being targeted to teen girls, but you know what? I'd be down. It wouldn't be my preferred version, obviously, but goofiness and comedy were always staples of MK – from the "Friendship" finishers, to the "Toasty!" guy, to the Motor Kombat kart racing mini-game in Mortal Kombat: Armageddon, to that hilarious "Cooking with Scorpion!" Easter Egg in the Krypt of Deadly Alliance, to Santa Claus flying over the moon in the first game's Pit Stage! It isn't all "grim 'n gritty" – in fact, even co-creator Ed Boon has talked about how the over-the-top silliness and camp of the Fatalities is what lets them get away with all the gruesomeness and gore!
Furthermore, it wouldn't deter or dilute the franchise or anything, either. Hell, this isn't even the first animated series based on the games to target kids (that would be 1996's Defenders of the Realm). But, regardless, in the same way something like Teen Titans Go! or Harley Quinn doesn't make other takes on the DC Universe any less brooding or serious (if that's what you're looking for), this Ultra Girls show also wouldn't all of a sudden erase the more serious takes on the MK universe, either. Both could exist and coincide, and you could simply ignore it entirely if the tone really bothered you that much for some reason (though if that's the case, maybe you should lighten up).
Also, I just like teen comedy shit anyway, so this sort of Mortal Kombat High-vibe the show's premise seems to be going for is right up my particular (very niche) alley!
Anyway, here are said screenshots the Redditor alluded to, if you were curious: