Because they haven't gotten around to do it yet.

Hornbuckle wouldn't be a monk, his identity was already explained by Blaze's backstory. He's the priest of Onaga who captured Blaze and forced him to guard the egg.

Hornbuckle's already got a partial story and has yet to be shown in close. It would be kewl if he's a ressurected Liu Kang in an evil form or he never died and changed destinies on us; will kinda counter with what Raiden did to him and still have the Dragon King/Blaze partially set to still happen. Would be a nice addition to MK10.

What would be even kewler is to have to have an ODD release of a DLC character without even telling anyone and release Nimbus Terrafaux on April Fools Day to whichever game they are currently on, that would be like double-fixing a rumor into reality.

Because not every single background element and fan made fantasy needs to become a character.

Who's to say they won't make him? Maybe we will see him when MK gets to the Deception era. Maybe sooner who knows?

Because no one wants a stupid Irish wrestling midget in an MK game.

That's Hornswoggle.

No No No, the real question here is why haven't they made Zebron a character yet?

Hornbuckle is an awful name.

As Kochal.

Wrong forum, mate. This is General MK stuff.

I wouldn't mind seeing a new character inspired from Hornbuckle, but PLEASE change the name to something cool! Hornbuckle sounds like the name of some Texas Cowboy Wannabe Wrestler or something.

However, a dragon priest who is out to catch Blaze would make a nice side-story for the next game and then they could at the same time introduce the changes that's been made to prevent the Armageddon, if there are any.

This. I guess I wouldn't mind if he actually became playable, but it's not something that I'd really look forward to. At least if they did that though, people could finally stop asking for him; even if it was just a brief appearance sort of how Tremor was in Vita.

To be fair, a monk is a kind of priest.

Y'know, speaking in "real world definitions" terms, and not in RPG classes...

Lecture?

I'm just saying that Hornbuckle can be a guy who wears thick robes and carries around an urn full of incense and prays at the altar of the giant egg, and then when it's time to fight he takes all the heavy stuff off and he's a shirtless speedy-kung fu type in green pants. Either way he's still going to be a guy who lives by a disciplined, ascetic lifestyle devoted to the service and resurrection of Onaga.

Shit negro, that's all you had to say

Hornbuckle WHO???

That poor woman's probably cursing ya'll out for talkin bad about her last name like that LOL. Yet being said, since she worked for the SNES port (ONLY) of MK2, found only in the credits as Leanne Hornbuckle which worked for Sculptured Software at that time, I don't know if they'd even have the rights to the name, not so much the character; kinda a similar yet different twist on Belokk, yet I could be very wrong.

Anyhow, does this mean that Hornbuckle's a transvestite gender like with the whole Poison deal in SF, lol? LOL, I had to say it!

One assumes that they'd keep the idea of the character but come up with a new name. It used to be "Torch and Hornbuckle", after all. They had to change him to Blaze so Marvel wouldn't sue 'em.
Hell, the devs were talking on twitter about maybe coming up with a different name for "Skarlet" right up until like a month or two before they released her DLC.

Also, Just give Lui Kang a green Alt.

I'm looking forward to new characters that aren't made up from glitches in MK games of yesteryear.

If he was real, then I'd want a few things:

-Keep the name.

-Give him priest-like robes in one costume, and shirtless and inspired by Kang in the other. (I designed a costume for him in the latter. My rendition has Liu Kang-like bangs, and a long braided ponytail. Soz, Shang Tsung. [Even made his personality to be more of a showboat among the priests, and doesn't like wearing the robes.. etc...])