I thought it might be interesting, given all the news and rumors over the past few months about what parts of history might or might not be changed in the game's story mode, to bring this back up and discuss what it might suggest.

Months ago, even before MK9 was officially announced and we knew what the game would be about, a page from an MK9 voice actor casting call leaked onto the net. There was a thread or two about it at the time, but it hasn't really been brought up much since, so I thought it might be interesting to bring it back to people's attentions.

It contained the following text, which I will now paste word for word:

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Wednesday, May. 27, 2009, 8:58 PM Pacific

MORTAL KOMBAT 9 VIDEO GAME
Voice Over
Video Game for Midway...

SUBMISSIONS BY MONDAY, JUNE 1ST AT 12 NOON...
ALL ROLES ARE VOICE OVER ONLY

[ FEMALE 3 ]
Allegiance: villain Age: 1,000s of years Actor/Voice: African-American or Middle Eastern, 20s or 30s; commanding but still feminine (think Hallie Berry as Storm in the X-Men but with no accent) She is one of many warriors forced to serve the Emperor. Best friend to Female 4, daughter of the emperor, her loyalties are tested when Female 4's allegiance to begins to wane towards the Resistance.

[ MALE 5 ]
Race: Asian, becomes a Cyborg Country of origin: unknown Allegiance: neutral Voice: low, powerful, slight accent Age: 30s Male 5 is possibly the most ruthless of the secretive assassins. A technology enthusiast, he volunteered to be the first to undergo transformation to a cyborg. His enhanced skills and hard-hearted nature make him the perfect killing machine. He now searches for rogue clan members in order to bring them back to for cyber-conversion.

[ MALE 8 ]
Race: Native American (possibly Lakota Sioux) Allegiance: hero Age: 30s-40s Voice: Smooth, low, calm Male 8 is a great Native American shaman and thus is intimately connected to the spirit world. These powers, in combination wih his superior fighting skills, make him a most trusted ally, and one of the most formidable protectors of Earth.

[ MALE 9 ]
Race: African-American Allegiance: neutral, becomes a villain Age: 20s Male 9 is a member of the secretive ninja assassins' guild. As such, he's loyal to whoever pays him. Unlike his fellow members, however, there are certain lines he won't cross. His interest in the guild seems to be waning, especially after learning of their plans to convert some of their members into cyborgs.

[ MALE 10 ]
Race: sorcerer Allegiance: villain Voice: slight indeterminably Asian accent in two versions: ancient and 40s An evil sorcerer, Male 10 hosts the Mortal Kombat tournament and is the final opponent of any Earth warrior skilled enough to survive to the championship round. His command of sorcery allows him to morph into other warriors, taking on their strengths and abilities. To sustain his life, he consumes the souls of those he defeats. He begins the story as a withered old man, but later is rejuvenated.

[ MALE 11 ]
Race: Chinese Allegiance: Shaolin monks (hero) Actor: Asian male, 20s, slight undeterminably Asian accent Male 11 is a Shaolin monk. He fought for the right to represent Earthrealm in the Mortal Kombat tournament but lost to his friend and rival. Younger and less experienced than his counterpart, his skill is unquestioned. He just needs to learn how to keep his emotions and impulsiveness in check.

[ MALE 13 ]
Race: African-American Allegiance: U.S. Special Forces (hero) Age: 30s Male 13 is the commander of a secret Special Forces unit. While pursuing a black-market arms dealer, he and his subordinate are forced to participate in the Mortal Kombat tournament. They try to complete their mission in the midst of otherworldly creatures wielding fearsome magical powers. He is built like a linebacker and is proficient in cutting-edge technology. Eventually his kombat skill is increased when his arms are replaced with super-powerful cybernetic prosthetics.

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So...what does it all mean?

Well the characters being described are obviously, in order, Jade, Sektor, Nightwolf, Cyrax, Shang Tsung, Kung Lao, and Jax.

This could be a fake, but consider: this was discovered BEFORE E3 and yet it has most of the characters who ended up being revealed AT E3 on it. How could anyone have known the game would be a retelling of MK1 thru 3, and Sektor, Cyrax, and Nightwolf would all show up, at that time?

So let's assume for the sake of argument that it's real...

First important tidbit: it confirms Jade will be in the game. It also suggests Shang will use morphing, in cutscenes at the least. Maybe they're working on making it possible in gameplay too? Maybe just for the boss fight? I doubt it's possible, but thinking about it's exciting if nothing else.

Second, and more importantly, every single bio here is the same as in the original canon. Shang gets de-aged, Jax gets his bionic arms, and Kung Lao doesn't attend MK1.

Could these bios be intentionally wrong, so as not to give away any of MK9's changes? Sure...but what if they're not? The only reason to lie on it would be to fool us fans, but it's not like they leaked the sheet on purpose. The intention was to inform the voice actors auditioning for the roles what those roles would entail.

I'm not saying that confirms anything, I'm just stating likelihoods. You may now discuss amongst yourselves.