MultiVersus Fans Want HBO Figures Like John Oliver & Tony Soprano
Fans of the upcoming MultiVersus fighting game from Warner Bros. give their thoughts on who else should join the likes of Batman and Jake the Dog.
Fans of the upcoming free-to-play MultiVersus game from Warner Bros. are now calling for the addition of HBO characters, with Tony Soprano and John Oliver among the contenders. MultiVersus, the new fighting game inspired by the Super Smash Bros. series, was announced last year, but a recent cinematic trailer put out earlier this week has become viral over social media. This in part is due to the internet’s love of super-powered Shaggy, but also from fans eagerly awaiting what other characters could be announced for the future
One of the main appeals of MultiVersus, which will have an open beta phase in July, is its small yet diverse selection of well-known and beloved characters. The roster of available characters spans generations of Warner Bros. properties, from classics like Bugs Bunny and Shaggy to more recent characters like Jake the Dog from Adventure Time and Garnet from Steven Universe. Yet for many, the stand-out character featured in the cinematic is Arya Stark from HBO’s Game of Thrones series, as she is the only one of the known roster who is principally a live-action character and one hailing from HBO, which is notorious for its adult-oriented programming.
As reported by IGN, this has led fans to take to social media and suggest other live-action combatants from HBO to fight alongside Arya Stark. The most popular suggestion by far is the big man himself Tony Soprano of The Sopranos. This isn’t as big a stretch as it would appear, since both Arya and Tony come from shows that are known to be rather explicit with violent and sexual scenarios. Perhaps less seriously, calls for host John Oliver, whose show is one of the highest rated reality TV shows, have also popped up around Twitter entering him into MultiVersus‘ cast, though this would be certainly be a very odd pick on the developer’s part.
Of course, the picks didn’t stop there. All over Twitter, fans began writing out entire wishlists of new possible combatants to throw into the MultiVersus ranks. Suggestions range from decently realistic picks such as Harvey Birdman and The Wire‘s Omar Little, to stranger choices such as the cast of The Property Brothers and the main trio of characters from Aqua Team Hunger Force.
Its difficult to see all of this attention and speculation and not draw comparisons to the early days of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate‘s pre-release buzz. Nintendo’s ability to keep its fanbase’s attention by teasing and encouraging speculation of new characters became a part of the experience, even after Ultimate‘s release. Its reasonable to believe that, alongside many gameplay similarities, it’s this sort of engagement with fans that makes MultiVersus in large part a true spiritual successor to the Smash Bros. series.
