1. Kintaro (It's never been officially established what happened to him after MKII, and even his appearance in Armageddon's Konquest mode doesn't clear anything up. Considering the redesign that he's gotten, and the utter lack of official closure for him, I'm betting he'll be back.)
2. Motaro (His Armageddon ending shows some promise in becoming a new story angle for our favorite - and only - Centaur. We never really got a good look into the relationship between the Shokan and Centaurs, and Motaro's ending sets up the perfect opportunity to explore it in more detail. True, it's another revenge storyline, but they could also play it off of the established Centaur/Shokan/Edenian treaty hinted at in Kung Lao's MK4 ending and Deadly Alliance/Deception, turning it into a bit of a search for truth than simple vengeance; who were the Shokan who cursed the Centaurs, and why? Or WERE the Shokan to blame for the curse? It would definitely be a better angle than simply the Shokan/Centaur battle for supremacy and Shao Kahn's favor.)
3. Reptile (He's got a solid link with Khameleon and Zaterra, and it's already been established that his main goal is to find out more about his race and, if possible, revive it, so if Midway decides to play that up, we could see a much more interesting Reptile in the next game; right now, he's really being played as a lost sheep looking for a sheppard to watch over him, which has been done to death and is really at the end of its credibility, right now.)
4. Havik (THE ultimate Wild Card. He's been shown to be highly manipulative and dangerous, if not kept under watch. He could be the ultimate "behind the scenes" guy, the man behind the curtain pulling the strings in a bunch of future woes for our heroes.)
5. Fujin (Raiden will more than likely be thrashed for his recent actions, so SOMEONE has to take his place as Protector of Earth, and since Fujin was supposed to have been given that role by Raiden when he became an Elder God, who better person to take it back?)
6. Khameleon (See Reptile. Besides, we need a decent 3D version of Khameleon, after her omission from Armageddon.)
7. Sareena (Forget her ending; her interaction with the Lin Kuei and Sub-Zero, and the consequences of that interaction should be looked into more deeply; Sub-Zero was warned that there were risks to trusting a demon from the Netherealm, so let's see those risks in action.)
8. Onaga (His heart gives him an incredible advantage over the others, and it would be interesting to delve a bit deeper into the history of his rule as Outworld's first Emperor; he did something Shao Kahn could never do during his reign - unite Outworld, so he's got to have one hell of a big dose of respect or fear from his subjects to achieve that sort of totalitarianism. Considering how piss-your-pants freaked the other characters were to learn of the Dragon King's return, I'd have to say it's the latter.)
9. Ermac (Now that he's free of Shao Kahn's mind control, an entire world of potential is opened up for him. I dunno what, but I know it's there.)
And...that's pretty much all I think will make it, aside from the obvious. Now, for a list of characters I do NOT want to see returning:
1. Goro (He's been whored out by Midway more times than Shao Kahn, and his story's been pretty much the same: service to Shao Kahn. The Shokan/Centaur/Edenian alliance was a good divergent from that, but Deception just had to bring him back under Kahn's yoke. The guy needs to be put to rest, and I know the perfect way to do so: tried and sentenced to death by his fellow Shokan for betraying them to the enemy {Remember, the Shokan were fighting alongside Edenia AGAINST Shao Kahn, so his faking his death and siding with Kahn in Deception would make him a traitor to his race}. Maybe Kintaro would take his place as the ruler of the Shokan?)
2. Shao Kahn (He's the quintessential Bondian villain of the MK universe, always coming up with elaborate plots to conquer the multiverse, and always failing miserably, only to somehow escape death and do it all over again. He may be the "greatest MK villain ever", but he's essentially a one-trick pony, and it's time to put that pony down for good.)
3. Quan Chi (God, END HIS FUCKING REVENGE STORY WITH SCORPION, ALREADY! FUCK!!!)
4. Liu Kang (Midway's already been trying to condition the 'next gen' Liu Kang for a while, and besides, his story is extremely stale, being the same over and over again. Lay him to rest, already.)
