Summary
Voice actress Cristina Valenzuela revealed that she was brought in forMortal Kombat 1to provide additional voice work for Megan Fox’s character, Nitara.Mortal Kombat 1is out now in early access, with many fans getting their first impressions of the gameplay, roster of Kombatants, and the single-player story mode. While early impressions are positive, one thing that was immediately criticized was the voice acting for one ofMortal Kombat 1’s playable characters, Nitara, who is played by Hollywood celebrity Megan Fox.
Before the game’s official launch, NetherRealm Studios released atrailer forMortal Kombat 1featuring Megan Fox, who expressed gratitude to the developer for getting the chance to play the vampiric femme fatale of Outworld. Megan Fox indicated that she is a big fan of the franchise and had a lot of fun voicing Nitara. Despite her enthusiasm for the role, many fans are not impressed with Fox’s performance. Now it’s come to light that Fox didn’t even do all of Nitara’s voice work.
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Cristina Valenzuela, a professional voice actor known for her video game and anime roles likeBlazBlue’s Noel Vermillion,Madoka Magica’s Homura Akemi, andKonoSuba’s Darkness, announced on Twitter that she was responsible for Nitara’s in-game battle grunts and foley forMortal Kombat 1. While Valenzuela was happy to play alongside Fox, many fans criticized NetherRealm Studios for this decision. Many were critical, saying Megan Fox was a case of stunt casting and that she couldn’t do all of what was required to play the character.
Somefans who were critical of Megan Fox’s acting inMortal Kombat 1have suggested that NetherRealm should’ve cast Valenzuela in the role instead. Fans have cited past performances like Velvet Crowe fromTales of Berseria, the aforementioned Darkness fromKonoSuba, or Verosika Mayday fromHelluva Bossbeing possible directions that Nitara could have gone if she was voiced by Valenzuela instead.
Others have compared the situation toMortal Kombat 11casting Ronda Rousey as Sonya Blade. Many gamers criticized Rousey’s performance in that game too, finding her acting to be dry and wooden. The practice of casting celebrities as video game characters has regularly been criticized, but it’s unlikely to change anytime soon.
Mortal Kombat 1launches September 19 for PC, PS5, Switch, and Xbox Series X/S.
