Liu Kang, Kitana, and Raiden are definitely going to be key players in MK11. Boss tier stuff.

Johnny, Sonya, and Jax are still up in the air because their "successors" weren't exactly successful at winning most people over. I can't believe they'll be replaced. They may sit out for a game, but there's no way they'll be gone for good. I could see Cassie being in and Johnny and Sonya sitting out in order for them to make more room on the roster, but Jacqui is in no way a good replacement for Jax.

Mileena and Quan Chi will probably sit out for a game. It's not unusual for MK to replace certain fan favorites for older ones. Reptile and Ermac will return, and I think Kung Jin's ending will become canon so he'll be in too. Kung Lao could be important for saving Liu Kang.

Well I would wish Reptile found several saurians who survived based on his MKX ending.

As for Ermac, if Shang Tsung returns, he'll extract some remaining souls in there. And I think its time King Jerrod returned.

I think judging from the ending and their own roles in the story, Liu Kang and Kitana are going to be teMIA next game (hence the ending).

I wouldn't be surprised to see the One Being or the cleric Havok in the next game in the role as boss. Netherealm will be sidelined.

I think everyone returns (16 old timers) except maybe Shinnok & Quan Chi ( I hope he returns)

With Shang Tsung returning everybody can be resurrected. I hope we get to see revenant Shao Kahn!!!

So.. you pretty much want MK9 again..

I think that he, like many, wants and expects a blend of MK9 and new/3d characters. It would be foolish to abandon all Mk9 characters or get even close as doing so could alienate older fans and the game might lose nostalgia value. Similarly the 3d Era has fans, and while not all characters have redeeming value, some do and will resurface from time to time (Kenshi and Quan chi do this the most). New characters always have potential and will likely be counted among most rosters moving forward.

Tldr: expect/want some mk9, some 3d, and some new

Some should return, some retire/take a break or die in peace.

The way I see it, the main front villains of the next game look to be Raiden versus Liu/Kitana. It would be interesting to throw in a totally new villain who lurks in the shadows to be the true threat. As for other classic fighters. Probably Scorpion, Sub-Zero, Reptile, Ermac and Kenshi. The others need to sit out to give others a chance. Raiden, Liu and Kitana and the other dead fighters should just be story mode npcs and not take up slots for the new roster. Overall I wasn't pleased with the majority of the roster and the dlc. MK 11 needs to be better and have relevant warriors instead of putting in characters for the sake of those who whine about them.

I dont think Reptile will be back. He isnt used very much in MKX.

not a very good argument: Mileena,Kano and Quan Chi weren't used that much in 9(Mileena in particular),but they were all back for this one.
Based on the story mode,as well as some character endings(and some dev. statements),at the very least these characters are likely to return:
Scorpion,Sub-Zero,Raiden,Liu Kang,Kitana,Shang Tsung,possibly Jade as well.
JC,based on that retirement speech at the end of story mode,as well as Sonya reconciling with him could heavily imply they are out of MK11.
Kung Lao certainly has a chance at returning,not to mention Kenshi and Jax compared to JC/Sonya,but it's still up in the air.
Ermac is most likely out,if Tsung returns,and Shinnok and Chi are also pretty much gone.

Reptile is popular, he is just not user-friendly in this game and has some overall gameplay flaws.
They will leave him or Ermac in the next game, but as far as I can see Ermac will be gone, so that Tsung can be back. And Noob will fill the forth ninja slot.

Old characters I see returning?

Scorpion
Sub-Zero
Jax
Raiden
Liu Kang
Kitana
Sonya
Kung Lao
Johnny

Less certain returnees whose odds are still very good:

Ermac
Reptile
Kano
Goro
Mileena
Baraka
Shang Tsung
Noob Saibot
Sektor
Cyrax
Kenshi

Old characters I don't see returning, except perhaps as DLC or fightable NPCs or both:

Shinnok
Tanya
Tremor

Basically, don't expect the freshest characters on the roster to be anyone other than new characters.

Easily the most fair list I have seen. Although some may want to add jade, sheeva, sindel, or a couple other classics.

NRS isn't about to abandon any core characters. We all hated the lack of stage fatalities and a pit but we would probably hate even more the exclusion of scorp, sub, Raiden, johnny, liu, kung, kitana, Sonya, or jax. To quote some people "it wouldn't be mk without (insert character above)"

Here we go again with the whole "Johnny Cage is gonna sit out because of cassie, or age. News flash for some of you, he's still in top 5 in online use, and is always seen in tournaments. Not to mention he's an original mk1 cast member, and there's a good chance everyone who appeared in mk1 will be back for the next game. Just accept Johnny Cage is a star character of this series, right behind scorpion sub zero and raiden. Just accept it

Now that the game is out and that people know firsthand the moveset are completely different, they still pull the offsprinf card?

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I'm a fan of the series as a whole. While the original cast is what I grew up with and played the most I don't want them to come back more than the 2nd Gen guys. I understand they're the staples but it wouldn't bother me if there was more of then than 1st Gen guys.

I thinking Johnny and Jax will sit out the next game as playable characters, they have the most effective replacements. Kitana and Liu don't have replacements and NRS clearly doesn't have any real interest in Fujin so Raiden isn't going anywhere.

Reptile can't be replaced without fans setting fire to NRS so he's coming back and they seem to be in to Ermac so he'll likely be back as well.

Quan Chi will.probably sit the next game out finally and either Shinnok or Shang will be back but probably not both. I think Goro will be out as well, he's a baffling addition in the first place.

Mileena could go either way she died but she's more popular than ever. With her sister not quite herself and empress of the Netherrealm there might be a place for her there and it'd be an opportunity for them to change the relationship between them.

Kenshi's out I think, just pass Sinto/Sento to Takeda for the Ronin stuff.

Lao is definitely coming as he's a fan fav, a dev fav, and a competitive fav.

you have to get past the mindset that cassie, Jacqui Takeda and jin are"replacements" it has been stated and known for a while that they are not replacements, they may be the next generation of fighters, but you can bet guys like Johnny Cage are gonna stick around with or without cassie around. For both popularity and story reasons

That's typically the point of aging characters and introducing a next generation to go onto the said generation. They pretty much beat us over the head with the passing of the torch concept.

it may be how most franchises work, and they were trying to"pass the torch" with these next gen guys but that doesn't mean their gonna drop a series staple because a few people think he needs a break. Well unlike most franchises, NRS is good at usually not making the same mistakes twice. Original mk3 they left out scorpion and Johnny Cage, making the roster seem very empty since a lot of the mk3 guys weren't popular at all when they were introduced, so they pump out umk3 with 2 of the franchises staples included and all the sudden umk3 is the shit, and probably the most popular arcade era mk. Same with deception, they leave out Johnny Cage and introduce some wonky ass characters like shujinko and hotaru, making the roster seem incomplete and kinda meh. Next game, they go balls out and put in basically everyone and anyonE, maybe to make up for a lackluster mkd roster. Point is that they know what happens when one of their poster children are left out,especially if they are as important and relevant to the story as Johnny is, you need to just slot in raiden,scorpion,sub zero, Johnny Cage and Liu Kang as shoe ins for mk11,and basically every mk game for the foreseeable future and that's quite alright with me

LOL. NRS or more specifically Ed Boon said the new generation characters are not replacements. They have no bearing whether their relatives are in the game or not. The axiom of them being replacements is false and above all stupid. Johnny Cage, Sonya, Jax, Kenshi and Kung Lao are popular characters. There was never any reason(s) of them being replaced.

The mindset is that they are seperate characters. For example, if Cassie is in the next game then that does not mean Johnny or Sonya are not going to be. Cassie exists outside of Johnny and Sonya. Cassie is her own character. Cassie is not a replacement. She is her own character. Just like with Ed, it makes me scratch my head why people can not realise this.

ALL classic characters will be back. New game means new graphics, engine etc. and therefore people want to see their old favorites rebooted.

I doubt we will have the kids though. As popular as they may be, they seem more like an exclusive gimmick for this game. Next one will probably take place elsewhere in the timeline.

while it's been already said they are not replacements,you have to keep in mind that characters can be heavily used by people and then dropped by the devs the next game (Need I say Cyrax or Smoke?)
They do give clues via story mode,and based on MKX's ending,it's very clear JC's gonna retire,and Sonya will likely join him. That doesn't mean they can't return as DLC or in MK12,obviously,or even as an NPC,but I wouldn't be surprised if that's a big hint that they won't be in the MK11 roster. they may be NPCS,but not playable characters,maybe later becoming DLC.
Kano might be out(he was imprisoned by SF),Goro might also be out (he got dismembered in the comic books,so far,he hasn't regained his arms)
Reptile has,so far,nothing to suggest he's skipping MK11,but then again,with NRS,you never know. If they were able to drop Cyrax just because,they can easily do so with any other character not named Scorpion,Sub-Zero,and Raiden. (Maybe even Liu Kang as well)

How were johnny and Sonya hinted to be out? Sonya's outro is literally her saying "Retirement? My ass". In johnny's arcade ending, he literally finds the secret to immortality and the voice over says "Johnny Cage's retirement would have to wait". And I don't see anything in the story mode that says they will be retiring other than the fact that Cassie exists. I'm actually curious if I just missed some colossal hint or something?

It wasn't a hint, they flat out say that it's up to them to protect Earthrealm, them being the new team. They beat us over the head with the idea that they'll be the new protagonists.