Lost Kontent: Ed Boon Teases Van Damme Arcade Precursor to Mortal Kombat

Posted at 07/25/2025 04:03 PM EDT by

As we count down to the retro-infused release of Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection -- series co-creator Ed Boon has unearthed a piece of Mortal Kombat development lore long thought lost to the past. It's only a screenshot for now, but the image comes from a pre-MK 1990 project that fans will instantly recognize from long discussed trivia about the game. Take a closer look:

Shared to the Threads social media platform; the screenshot shows "Confidential Material" from a video for a "Van Damme Arcade Video Game Demo". The star of fan-favourite movies like Bloodsport and Kickboxer has long been associated with MK's origins, part of an unrelated Midway game pitch that would've seen the Belgian martial arts star digitized in a never-manifested release.

Fellow co-creator John Tobias explained in an interview with MKO, "We envisioned Van Damme's involvement as a character in our game's story, or as playing himself in the game. That deal didn't pan out and we simply moved on. I think it was probably a good thing because who can guess what restrictions we may have been working under. Without a licensed tie-in we were free to do what we wanted."

Van Damme has continued to be associated with the series through popular trivia and inspiration evident in the creation of Johnny Cage. He finally completed this journey -- appearing as a premium skin for the character in Mortal Kombat 1.

This isn't the first time a trip to Ed Boon's personal archives has produced intriguing artefacts from MK's past: In anticipation of the franchise's 30th anniversary, the legendary gamemaker uncovered production videos from the first game's development, showing the creation of creation of Scorpion's spear, Sub-Zero's fight stance, and Raiden's teleport.

Do you want to see more from the lost Van Damme Arcade Game Demo? What would you have liked to have seen if a JCVD game came to fruition? Share your thoughts in the comments below and dig deeper into MK's secret past in the 2D Kombat Klassics category!