Following the Nickelodeon fighting game, Warner Bros. supposedly wants its own Smash Bros. clone with Batman, Gandalf, and Fred Flintstone.
Considering the success of Super Smash Bros., it’s no surprise that other companies would attempt to ape it with their own crossover platform fighters. Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl quickly gained a lot of favour for being Smash Bros. but with characters from SpongeBob, Rugrats, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles to name a few and, apparently, Warner Bros. has something similar in the works.
The rumour originally comes from a Reddit post, which claims that it’s in development at NetherRealm, the studio behind Mortal Kombat and Injustice. While it is described as Warner Bros.’ take on Super Smash Bros., it will apparently also feature a unique tag team mechanic.
As for the roster, the post only mentions Batman, Gandalf from Lord Of The Rings, Mad Max, Fred Flintstone, Tom & Jerry, Johnny Bravo, and Shaggy from Scooby-Doo. Harry Potter and Ron Weasley may be included too, but the Redditor admits that this may not happen.
They later added a link to a trademark for Multiversus, which was filed by Warner Bros. However, they add that they don’t know the game’s name so they can’t be certain if the game and the trademark are connected.
Interestingly, insider Jeff Grubb has corroborated the game’s existence, except he claims that NetherRealm is not the developer. He didn’t say which studio is in charge but Grubb has previously said that NetherRealm is focused on making Mortal Kombat 12.
Response to the rumour is rather mixed. Not only are people debating whether it’s real or fake, they’re split on whether the idea is a good one or not, with some hating it for how stupid it sounds and others hoping it’s true for the exact same reason.
The concept of a crossover Smash Bros. clone from Warner Bros. isn’t too unbelievable. After all, it’s already demonstrated a keenness for crossovers with the likes of Lego Dimensions, The Lego Movie and its sequel, and Space Jam 2, which all feature lots of bizarre cameos. But the company is in the midst of breaking up its gaming division, with some of its studios to be transferred to a new company formed with the Discovery Channel.
According to Grubb, this is the reason why NetherRealm isn’t doing Injustice 3, because it doesn’t know if it will have access to the rights for DC Comics’ characters like Superman and Batman anymore. If this is the case, then it seems unlikely that it would undertake a project that involves multiple Warner Bros. properties.
At the time of writing, it’s still not known which studios will be kept under Warner and which will be sent to the new company. So, trying to juggle this kind of project with the uncertainty that you might not be able to use some of the proposed characters could be a legal nightmare.
Email gamecentral@metro.co.uk, leave a comment below, and follow us on Twitter.
MORE : Super Smash Bros. Ultimate review – Nintendo vs. the world
MORE : New Gotham Knights and Suicide Squad trailers confirm 2022 release dates
Follow Metro Gaming on Twitter and email us at gamecentral@metro.co.uk
For more stories like this, check our Gaming page.