Sakurai posted a Terminator 2 reference & Smash Ultimate fans think Doomguy is DLC

Smash Ultimate creator Masahiro Sakurai just can’t seem to catch a break as a Terminator 2 reference he posted for his “picture of the day” on Twitter instantly spawned DLC fighter speculation.

On August 23, the Smash creator posted a photo of Ken underneath lava while giving a thumbs up – a classic image originally from the end of the sci-fi action classic Terminator 2 where Arnold Schwarzenegger is sacrificed for the fate of the world.

It’s a touching scene and has been parodied numerous times over the years in other movies, TV shows and even video games – the latter of which has fans believing Sakurai was teasing something.

2016’s DOOM game features an Easter Egg that pays homage to the Terminator 2 scene. After standing in lava for too long, Doomguy will give a thumbs up before he’s fully submerged and ultimately dies.

DOOM x Smash speculation mounts

Some fans, by either trolling simple naivety, believed that Sakurai was making a Doom reference and that he was teasing Doomguy in Smash.

“Doom 2016 reference. DOOMGUY CONFIRMED?!” wrote one fan, who may have never seen James Cameron’s 1991 film before.

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“Doomslayer confirmed!” replied another, posting a gif of the Doom Easter Egg.

Even some Fortnite and Among Us speculation sprung up, as both of those games also pay tribute to Terminator 2, though neither of those game had as much rumblings as the possibilities of a Doom fighter.

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Doomguy/Doomslayer has long been a rumored DLC fighter with the Doom Eternal devs even saying they reached out to Nintendo about adding him.

Another theory about Doomslayer coming to Smash factors existing content into the equation. Considering Bethesda has a Skyrim and Fallout Mii outfit in the game already, the lack of any Doom content has been a bit odd, as it seems out of place for their most iconic franchise to lack representation. Could Nintendo be saving him for last?

Did Sakurai terminate Doomguy’s Smash chances?

Of course, if Doomguy was really the last DLC in Fighters Pass Volume 2 and Sakurai was aware of the Easter Egg in DOOM, why wouldn’t he wait for Doomguy to be added and then replicate the T2 scene?

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While some fans believed it was a Doomguy hint, it could just as easily be viewed as a deconfirmation when approaching it this way.

All this said, Sakurai himself is tired of fans thinking everything he posts is some sort of Smash clue. While speaking on Katsuhiro Harada’s show, Harada’s Bar, he took issue with fans reading too much into him talking about other games.

“Because of the way Smash Bros is made, I can’t make connections with other games or promote them. If I connect with other games, people will think the game’s character will be added,” he explained before adding, “I’d just like to say, ‘Give me a break!’”

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The final Smash Ultimate DLC fighter is scheduled to release by December 2021. If it is in fact Doomguy then announcing him at The Game Awards just like with how Nintendo did for Joker and Sephiroth could be an amazing move.

Until then, we’ll just have to wait and see, but there’s no doubt there will be plenty more Smash speculation, leaks and rumors until then, so stay tuned.