Mortal Kombat creator Ed Boon has revealed the first game was very nearly a licensed Jean-Claude Van Damme title, with the Muscles from Brussels' likeness used in initial demos.

Speaking to Gamespot, Boon explained Van Damme sadly wasn't game for the team to let his likeness be used in the long-term, but that's certainly what they were aiming for in the early days.

"The first day was us mocking up a bit of a demo using Jean-Claude Van Damme images from Bloodsport," Boon said. "We hadn't had anybody come into the studio to record, so we were trying to convince Van Damme to let us do a licensed Van Damme game.

"We went into the movie and found an image of him getting into a stance and stripped out the background and put it into the game and mocked things up. We were kind of getting used to the new digitized technology, too, so that's what I remember, trying to setup a demo to try to convince Jean Claude Van Damme to let us do a game based on him."

Boon also reflected upon society's increased tolerance for violence in games, but made it clear there is definitely a line he and the team are never going to cross.

"Every game, we have these brainstorming meetings, and...somebody will suggest something and it's more of a gut feeling that, you know, that's a little too far," he said. "I think every single game, [there are] those discussions where, you know, everyone's trying to push the envelope, but there's always a line that you never want to cross."

Earlier today Boon revealed Tremor was brought back due to fan demand, with anyone wanting to play as him needing to pick him up via the game's Kombat Pack. Tons of Mortal Kombat X news has been hitting lately, from the confirmed addition of easy fatalities to the return of Liu Kang. We've been following along with all the Mortal Kombat news as it breaks, and will continue to give you all the information as it hits.

Luke Karmali is IGN's UK News Editor. You too can revel in mediocrity by following him on Twitter.