Though Mortal Kombat 1 did a good job of bringing back many fan favorites from Mortal Kombat’s 3D era, not everyone was pleased with the fighters that got excluded. In particular, Jade fans have seemingly been the most disappointed that she did not return from Mortal Kombat 11.
According to Ed Boon himself, the outcry for Jade’s inclusion in Mortal Kombat 1 may even be louder than the demand for Mileena in Mortal Kombat 11. However, there may be hope as Jade’s voice actress from Mortal Kombat 11, Mela Lee, recently shared some information that seems to indicate that the Edenian may someday return in Mortal Kombat 1.
As pointed out by UnrivaledWW3 on Reddit, Mela Lee recently showed some clips of herself with the Warner Bros. Water Tower in the background. Mela Lee had some things to say with regards to these shots.
“Guys, we ended with an epic session,” said Mela Lee about wrapping up 2023. “I cannot wait to share.”
Looking through Mela Lee’s Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok, we’ve been unable to find exactly where Mela Lee posted this. It’s entirely possible that Mela Lee may have deleted this post altogether.
This whole situation is extremely reminiscent of how Andrew Bowen posted a shot of himself with a hinting smile near the Warner Bros. Water Tower. At the time, Andrew Bowen acted as the voice actor for Johnny Cage in Mortal Kombat X and Mortal Kombat 11, so fans took this as a hint that Bowen would be returning for “Mortal Kombat 12.”
It turns out that this was indeed the case as Bowen would return to voice Johnny Cage in Mortal Kombat 1. Of course, the Tweet was curiously deleted before any official announcements were made.
There are certainly a number of variables that seem to favor Jade’s chances as a future DLC character for Kombat Pack 2 or beyond. For starters, the character is referenced several times in the game’s main story mode and during multiple character dialogues.
Just like with previous Mortal Kombat entries, dataminers have been able to look under the hood for Mortal Kombat 1 and find some evidence pointing towards future content. As it turns out, there are references to Jade already present in the code.
At CCXP 2023, Ed Boon confirmed that Mortal Kombat 1 will be supported longer than the duration of Mortal Kombat 11’s support. It’s even been confirmed that NetherRealm Studios is already working on the expansion to Mortal Kombat 1’s story, which will be similar to what the Aftermath story expansion added to Mortal Kombat 11’s main story mode.
With all of this in mind, the idea of Jade joining the cast of playable characters after the completion of Mortal Kombat 1’s Kombat Pack is looking very probable at the moment. Ultimately, we’ll just have to wait and see what comes out of all of this when something gets officially announced.