Though Super Smash Bros. Ultimate advertised itself on the slogan "everyone is here," there are few games more recognizable for their insane crossover potential than Epic Games' Fortnite. Since Fortnite's battle royale mode launched in September 2017, it has become one of the most popular games of all time. The core of the experience is a solid shooter with many customization options and a live-service model that lets Epic Games add storylines, mechanics, and dancing emotes over time, bolstered by frequent pop culture references.
Fortnite's increasing catalog of characters originate from novels, comic books, television, movies, and video games alike. There are even celebrities like Ariana Grande divorced from any particular role they might have played, as well as live concerts - with a datamine pointing to Lady Gaga's potential appearance in Fortnite. Epic Games drew a lot of attention for adding Dragon Ball characters and mechanics, as well as content from Bungie's Destiny 2. The latter could present actor Lance Reddick a unique opportunity to have multiple appearances in the popular shooter.
Fortnite's Crossover Potential
The longer Fortnite operates, the more absurd its gameplay scenarios become. Its recent Dragon Ball event added the ability for any character to use a Kamehameha Wave, which led to plenty of videos in which Rick Sanchez destroyed Darth Vader and Master Chief with the iconic anime technique (and endless permutations therein). Another major appeal is collecting skins in a matching set for use with team-based rounds, as seen via Fortnite's addition of Teen Titans character Starfire alongside her teammates Raven and Beast Boy.
Given the scope of its pop culture offerings, there have been some interesting character meet-ups in Fortnite. One notable example is Zendaya being added twice in 2021, both as MJ from Spider-Man: No Way Home and Chani Travel from Dune. Fortnite's Destiny crossover began in late August, coinciding the announcement of Destiny 2's Season 18 and first look at the upcoming Lightfall expansion. It includes three skins for Commander Zavala, Ikora Rey, and Exo Stranger alongside special emotes, three pickaxes, a glider, and a unique game mode called Guardian Zone Control.
The Potential Lance Reddick Fortnite Takeover
Zavala is one of the better-known Destiny characters to outside observers thanks to Reddick's "Cabal on Mars" speech, but it's certainly not the only character he's known for. Reddick has been acting since the 1990s, with some prominent television and movie roles including Phillip Broyles on Fringe and Charon in the John Wick film series. Keanu Reeves' John Wick is already in Fortnite, leaving room for another Reddick crossover when John Wick: Chapter 4 releases, and there's an argument to be made for his iteration of Albert Wesker in the Resident Evil Netflix series. Capcom has already lent Epic Games a number of Street Fighter characters, so it's not an unreasonable ask.
However, one crossover that Epic Games should return to is Guerrilla Games' Horizon franchise. Aloy was added to Fortnite in April 2021 for Chapter 2, Season 6: "Primal," even though this was months before Horizon Forbidden West hit PS4 and PS5. Now that Forbidden West has come and gone, there's talk of DLC similar to Horizon Zero Dawn's "Frozen Wilds" expansion. Even if this doesn't happen, Horizon Call of the Mountain is the planned flagship release for Sony's PlayStation VR2 headset.
Either of these occasions would be great to add Reddick's Sylens in Fortnite alongside characters like Erend, Varl, or even Carrie-Ann Moss' Tilda van der Meer for more substantial name recognition. PlayStation has clearly shown an interest in Guerrilla Games' Horizon series as one of its top brands through the aforementioned VR spin-off, an upcoming Netflix adaptation, and crossovers with titles like Genshin Impact. Returning to Fortnite soon would make sense, and Reddick could easily spearhead this by becoming another repeat visitor to the island.
Fortnite is free-to-play on Mobile, PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.