Great Kung Lao;
Tanya;
Khameleon;
Mileena;
Jade; 
Chameleon; 
Ermac; 
Henge; 
Kitana; 
Rain; 
Reiko; 
Hornbuckle; 
Abacus; 
Earth God; 
Motaro; 
Jataaka; 
Kia; 
Sareena; 
Shinnok; 
Quan Chi; 
Shao Kahn; 
Reptile; 
The Brotherhood of Shadow; 
Blaze; 
Tarkata; 
Shadow Priests; 
Elder Gods; 
Masked Guards; 
Oni; Reptile; 
Water God;
Fire God; Earth God; 
Baraka; 
Zara; 
Wynd and Rayne; 
Pterodactyl; 
Fujin; 
Raiden, And that’s still not counting them all…And this is a series based on the success of a live-action movie, based on a 2D fighting series composed of pixilated sprites with human actors. So there was a lot of the roster openings that could have been done with the original actors. And around the time of the airing, the hottest action adventure small screen fad was Power Rangers, originally featuring a cast that could fight a lot better than act. I honestly think that would have been a better casting call. Of the leads, only the exiled bodyguard invented for the show could do his own fight scenes. The Mortal Kombat Champion. Needed a fighting double. And he couldn’t even shave his hair like the rest of the monks at his temple.
I think if they had just gotten Johnny Young Bosch a bald cap and a training outfit and some robes, and focused Season one on him assembling a team to defend Earthrealm after the anointed champion has been slain. While the established lore confirms he is doomed, this reimagined series could do some worldbuilding while exploring the Great Kun Lao’s lingering impact on Earthrealm at large. Facilitating a dissident’s escape from the Lin Kuei who goes on to form the Shirai Ryu. Reiko eventually betraying Shao Khan to Shinnok. Safeguarding Khameleon’s preparation to move against the Khan. Slightly feeding Kitana’s doubts in her mission, but moreso Mileena’s suspicions of her sister. But please, let’s keep that ship tease between Lao and Mileena.
And now the remaining untapped characters I have notes and thoughts on.
Yong Park (There were so many fleeting and minor characters in the Great Kung Lao’s part of the novel that you could spread across season one before Kung Lao becomes Champion, and suddenly has to think of how his halted aging will impact their place in his life)
Sindel (Her spirit could make some appearances, planting seed of their rebellion and inadvertantly giving her daughter and Jade the means to bring her back to her senses later.)
Vapor (Her powers might include longevity, it’s really not explained.)
Li (In the novel she’s in Kung Lao’s wife at the of his life, but it seems that Kung Lao in the book never won. You can borrow all the links and connections the novel gave him)
Kintaro (His original costume couldn’t be done for the games, but it could at least appear for the background characters in a show, or as a guardian the characters couldn’t get passed until they were stronger, like a power ceiling.)
Noob Saibot (Still an ambiguous mystery by this point. And usually a pallete swap of either Scorpion, but in UMK3 he has his own powers)
Queen Mai (Prince Goro might be a bit young yet to appear here, but if he’s too young to fight, his brother Duroc might actually make his first appearances outside of the 1990’s. But making a full on animatronic would financially never be plausible, just look at the CGI used to display the Saurians.
So if you can’t get their Goro animatronic, you have to get a new actor to go with digitally added arms like Sheeva in MK: Annihilation. And that never would fly with someone like Goro. We’ve never seen Queen Mai before, and she shares a given name with famous ninja Mai Shiranui. You could have done a parody of the “Queen of Fighters.” Preferably with someone exceptionally tall or ripped. A pronounced fitness athlete, a strength trainer, power lifter, or a Miss Olympia. Unless you want to bring back the actress to replicate Sheeva. Though why anyone would want to replicate that film sequel is beyond me)
Shirai Ryu Founder (A Lin Kuei who has an arc to escape to Japan and form their rival ninja clan)
Cryomancer (proto Sub-Zero, maybe the VERY first to wield that title. The use of those powers would initially be VERY unfamiliar, but come a lot closer to what we would expect by the time of the tournament. Personally responsible for capturing the runaway dissident Takeda who goes on to for the Shira-Ryu Clan.)
Lin Kuei Grandmaster (Might he be ageless? Would we meet his son Sektor as a human? Obviously the Grandmaster isn’t immortal, Sektor slew him. )
Tremor He was only in Special Forces by this point, so he may have been an immortal elemental? Had he been confirmed as human by then? I honestly haven’t found that.
Black Dragon Most specifically its founder in this reimagined Pilot, while a small gang that’s a permanent fixture by the end of the first season. Give a mix of contemporary Black Dragon features into a composite character. Imports Gunpowder, fights with hookswords, flexible and slippery. She injures Kung Lao for 3 episodes through poison and dirty fighting while Outworld must turn its focus elsewhere.
And here are some items and aspects outside of characters in your massive potential roster. Not even counting potential or discarded characters. You could have even used public domain characters who would fit in Mortal Kombat’s distant past. But that last one, I would not recommend. Now let’s look at items and settings they could have explored, much of which they did in some way.
The Various Realms; 
Amulet of Shinnok; 
Razor-Rimmed Hat; 
Quan Chi’s Fortress; 
Netherrealm; 
Portals (gateways); 
Bridge of Immortality; 
Fire Well; 
Hell; 
Kahn’s Kave; 
Heaven
Now what do I actually like about Conquest?
My top five likes are as follows:
#5 is a Tie between Taja and (to my surprise) Siro.
#4 Raiden and Shang Tsung play well by the same actor.
#3 The sheer ham of Quan Chi.
#2 Shang Tsung and related figures and factions. Master CHo, Omegis, that Kung Lao fixation, bouncing off Quan CHi (Were they ever actually filmed together?)
#1 Omegis. Because it’s JUST. SO. HARD. To beat Angelica Bridges’ infectious energy and spark. They only featured her in 3 episodes, so she didn’t overstay her welcome, but she was almost always an influence in major events within series mythology.
So now what do you think? Have I laid out enough? Could fans make an independent series based on these? Please tell me your thoughts in the comments below.
fandomfoodie 