Gandalf vs Batman: Warner Bros. is making a Smash Bros. ripoff

Gandalf vs Batman vs Daenerys Targaryen vs Tony Soprano…Warner Bros. is working on its own Smash Bros. knock-off called Multiversus.

When Nintendo put out Super Smash Bros. for the Nintendo 64 way back in 1999, it probably had no idea the monster it was creating. The game allowed players to pit various iconic Nintendo character against one another in 2D brawls, making for a game that was fun and also scratched that fan service itch.

Over 20 years later, and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is one of the biggest games around, and features a roster of fighters that reaches far beyond Nintendo. Other companies have come along with knockoffs, like Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl, which finally answers the question of who would win in a fight between SpongeBob SquarePants and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

And now, VentureBeat is reporting that Warner Bros. is making its own Smash Bros. ripoff, but this time with its vast arsenal of characters. It’s called Multiversus, which isn’t bad name.

What characters might be included? VentureBeat mentions Gandalf from The Lord of the Rings, Batman, Tom & Jerry, and Shaggy from Scooby-Doo, but the possibilities are endless. Daenerys Targaryen vs Tony Soprano? Tyrion Lannister vs. Bugs Bunny? VentureBeat mentions that they may bring in “a certain active NBA star” from the latest Space Jam movie.

And Space Jam: A New Legacy is kind of the template for all this, since that movie was really just an excuse for Warner Bros. to trot out all of the characters it owned in hopes that you would subscribe to HBO Max to see them on their own. But back to Multiversus, VentureBeat says that the impressions insiders have gotten so far is that the game is on a tight budget, which makes sense — it’s a cash grab, after all — and may go free to play.

I keep saying “VentureBeat says” because this all remains unconfirmed…but I choose to believe it. Of course the studio behind Space Jam: A New Legacy would do something like this.

UPDATE: Okay, the character roster for this game leaked. Here’s the roster at the moment:

• Stephen Universe
• Finn the Human from Adventure Time
• Jake the Dog from Adventure Time
• Batman
• Harley Quinn
• Shaggy
• Superman
• Wonder Woman
• Gandalf
• Rick from Rick & Morty
• Bugs Bunny
• Tom & Jerry
• An original character

Are we interested?

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