Fighting game fans have enjoyed more than three decades of spine-rippin’, head explodin’, harpoon impalin’ gaming fun with Mortal Kombat‘s gallery of ninjas, special forces soldiers, and very toothy creatures from another dimension. But, even after so many games, Mortal Kombat 1 may be the best entry yet.
The game landed in mid-September and we’re now beginning to see guest fighters arrive via ‘Kombat Pack 1’. The first to enter Kombat was Invincible’s Omni-Man, with his TV show voice actor J.K. Simmons along for the ride. Omni-Man will soon be joined by Peacemaker and Homelander, with John Cena voicing his The Suicide Squad character.
Sadly, Antony Starr has confirmed he will not be voicing Homelander. The Boys star answered the question on his Instagram, saying, simply, “nope“. A little digging also turned up a six-month-old Reddit post in which a fan asked Starr if he had the gig at convention, to which he replied that he wasn’t offered enough to voice act. So if Starr’s out, who’s in?
Homelander’s voice actor
Right now there’s no official announcement though we can make an educated guess. It’s notable that both Simmons and Cena are already included in the Mortal Kombat 1 credits for their DLC work. So, are there any voice actors listed in the credits who don’t already voice a character?
There are three: Chris Cox, Stephen Oyoung, and Stephanie Sheh. Of those, Cox is by far the most likely candidate. He’s already been a soundalike for Arnie by voicing The Terminator in Mortal Kombat 11 and from what we’ve heard has the right voice to do an Antony Starr impression.
Some fans have come to the same conclusion:
A list of Homelander’s dialogue has also been data-mined from the game, confirming he’ll be reciting many of his most famous The Boys lines:
We’re a little put out that NetherRealm Studios appear to have lowballed Starr and, after he declined, didn’t try to make him a better offer. Perhaps the bad press about this story may cause them to return to the negotiating table (and the SAG-AFTRA strikes being over means Starr can do it). But even if that doesn’t happen, Chris Cox is a veteran voice actor and should knock this out of the park.
So when can we expect to play as Homelander? Sadly there’s no official date for him joining Kombat, though NetherRealm Studios has said it won’t be later than spring 2024.