Id say, more than mk1, and less than mkA.......

but seriously, i say only 1 or 2 originals, just to have people to have memories of the past in their stories, but the rest all new, like a new generation of fighters.

Well I'd personally like there to be 18 new characters and 7 returning characters (Scorpion, Sub-Zero, Ermac, Smoke, Khameleon, Reiko, and N(ew)b Saibot).

I know Ed Boon wants to basically start all over, a whole new tournament with all new characters (except with Scorpion and Sub-Zero). However he made that statement about 2 years ago and I don't know if his ideals have changed since then. I hope that Armageddon does thin the heard, but not completely gets rid of everyone, y'know? I commend Ed Boon for wanting to do something as bold as "starting over," but lets face it, the characters are going to be hit and miss and Ed Boon is going to need older characters to fall back on if the new characters don't go over well with fans.

I hear ya on that one GraveDigger!

We know for sure that Subby and Scorp are returning. Boon has stated, that MK without Sonya is nothing. So I guess Sonya is returning, and there are 3 returning as you and or I know of.
Raiden is a possibility for MK8. I see potential in him and his story is getting good. With him corrupted, there are a lot of possibilities where the "MK Team" could take him. Raiden could even take over the Throne as Emporer...who knows? So I'm sure that Raiden will return either way.
As for other returning characters...it's impossible to know who would be returning for sure. I hope that Liu Kang does die off permenently, because he's dead already...a zombie! So I hope they discontinue the character. MK Fans want a new Shaolin character in MK8. Why not just take Kai's character and give him a rendition. In MK4, Kai is a Shaolin Monk....but I don't see it in him at all in MKA. Kai should return in MK8 as a SM, so then he could stand in place of Liu Kang.
Now on to your question. I'd like to see about 15-18 characters in MK8.

i dont care who or how many characters die as long as i get

a video of how they die. a background.

immagine a long video, 20 seconds or so to every character that dies showing how they die. not hard to do. and it gives background for us.

i jsut wanna know how, so been, LET ME KNOW HOW!

There is rumors going around that Midway intends to do just that.

I would say an average of 30 total, 15-20 returning, 10-15 new.

However, if I had it my way, I would keep the new characters to a minimum and focus on refining and perfecting the established classic characters. It works for most other franchises out there, why not use it here? Soul Calibur 3 only had 2 new characters. Tekken 5 didn't have much more than that. I don't see a problem with that. The only reason to reinvent something is if the original got stale or just plain sucked.

30 total

10ish remaining.

Only MK legends should survive.

- Raiden (Thunder God, has much potential storyline-wise).

- Shao Kahn (Awesome, Emperor of Outworld, which is a big part of the MK universe).

- Scorpion (Symbol of MK).

- Sub-Zero (Symbol of MK).

- Shang Tsung (Allied with Shao Kahn once more, has been one of the main bad guys since MK1).

- Fujin (Even though not technically a "legend", he is a god and awesome. He needs to return to reach his potential).

- Kung Lao (New Liu Kang).

- Shinnok (Rules Netherealm, thats a pretty big part of the MK universe

they should not kill off any mks people but if they have to ill get sad ....................... well not for kano

First off, there is already a thread in this form mentioning this, which was made before yours.
Anyways, I think that there should be at least 15-18 characters overall in total. For 15 characters it could be like...6 or 7 returning and 8 or 9 new. As for the 18 characters...9 returning and 9 new? Just my thought!

I think that 12 would be a nice number. Not including hidden characters. The hidden characters should be whatever returning characters r in the game. Scorpion, Sub-Zero .... whoever. Let people get used to the new characters and as a reward they get the returning ones.

I'm going to guess here and say MK8 will have UMK3 or MK:DA's or possibly MK2's amount...

Minimum of 20 for sure, but less then 30 I'll say

The only two that I'm positive will be back are Sub-Zero and Scorpion

I'm hoping Ermac and Fujin make the cut as well.

i believe a new character should be tremor (if u dnt no who he is look it up) he was planned to b in mortal kombat trilogy but was placed in favor of rain........i believe tremor should a new character

I was not aware of this, but I do tend to miss things on this board, so it's a possibility. My apologies if that is the case.

That would be simply awesome. I was picturing unlockable information on the true Armageddon endings to each character.

Returning: Scorpion, Sub-Zero, Kitana, Sonya, Shao Kahn, Tanya, Reptile, Jax/Johnny Cage

5 New Characters

max out at 25.

10 old

10new

5 secrets

I'll explain later

Well Considering the fact that they have been saying they are only bringing Sub-Zero and Scorpion back. I think they should have at least asm amny characters as they had in Mortal Kombat 2. That way they can work on a lot more better stuff for few characters.
I think it would be cool.
That way we'd have at least one character we have to master and really like.
And that way they have more in the disk to maybe add stuff like, Create an ARENA, And Character (Let's hope they do better on that)
And stuff like...Different Blocks. Or...Etc.
It would be cool.

To Sanjei1;
Really, they...the "MK team" have been saying a lot of this lately. They have said that an MK without Sonya is pointless! By this I mean that Sonya is "the" original of all original females. So like Subby and Scorpion, Sonya is their fave female character.One more thing on my mind...I believe that Raiden is going to appear in MK8 as a playable character or a boss, but more likely the main boss (Emporer) Raiden! Who knows?

about 20, add about 2 or 3 new characters every game, thats it...not EIGHT

I think they should beat their record with new characters added, and have 12. If they can come up with more, then by all means go for it, but I think 12 is a nice, round number.

As for returning characters, I don't think they really need to go with that many returning. Sub-Zero, Scorpion and Sonya Blade have apparently been pretty much confirmed. Taven seems fit to return, and Edenia will have someone on the throne (I mean, most likely), so assuming that she becomes Queen as it makes the most sense, Kitana would probably return. She's kind of a female icon, too.

I personally think the character is done, but a lot of people are clamouring for Raiden to return, so what the hell, throw him in. I like the idea of him being made mortal as punishment for his crimes, and Raiden finally knows what it's like to be on the other side of the glass. But this isn't about story. So yeah, let's keep Raiden in. I personally think Shao Kahn being back, and being playable from the get-go, is a great way to add credibility to this new arc. If the big boss of the old games is playable, then it makes the big boss this time look pretty bad ass in comparison. They will probably just have him die, but I think the character is pretty cool, and could continue without offending anyone.

So far my returning character tally is at 7.

Earthrealm will probably have a protector, but I don't think they should participate in the tournament. It seems hypocritical having Taven compete, then, but Taven has only been in one game. I think he needs more time to develop in people's heads before he moves into the background.

I'm fine with leaving the returning character at 7, and having 19 playable characters, which would admittedly look a bit messy on the character select screen. Let's maybe nudge it up, and have 12 returning and 12 new?

Darrius seems a favourite of the MK Team. Ed Boon speaks highly of his fighting style and inspiration, and John Vogel said he would definitely like to see him back. The story might actually accommodate him this time. I like the idea of Cyrax being back, with a new story, and maybe even a new look (just a far more updated look to basically draw comparisons to how great the new graphics are). We've got three more slots left:

Noob Saibot has really stepped up as a character, and it seems likely that he could return. Sareena is another young character, and she fits in with the whole Sub-Zero/Noob Saibot thing better than anyone else, in my opinion. She adds a third returning female. With one more slot left, I say just give it to an oddball character, to make people laugh, or piss them off. Stryker, FTW! Have him survive Shao Kahn's invasion, and Armageddon, and develop a bit of a "hey, I can't be stopped!" complex, and become a little bit wacky in the head. Stryker was always my favourite as a kid, so this is completely biased, but I don't care.

So this leaves us with 24 characters, and I can maybe think of two that would make great hidden characters. Shang Tsung, turning out to still be alive and waiting in the shadows; and Havik, manipulating things from the side. In my vision of MK8, even though some people aren't keen on the idea, I'd have Kano serve as the sub-boss, just because it's an idea that's already made. Save any ingenious giant boss concepts for the next game in the series, while this one sets them up by dropping hints. I'd have Kano fight like he was Kano in any other game, in a bit of a "Wow, this is kind of underwhelming" boss battle, and then when you get the chance to "Finish Him!" he transforms into a dragon, and you then have to defeat a giant dragon in another two rounds. So yeah, that being suggested, regular Kano could be unlocked as a hidden character, too.

So my final statistics on the game would be:

* Cyrax
* Darrius
* Kitana
* Kurtis Stryker
* Noob Saibot
* Raiden
* Sareena
* Sub-Zero
* Scorpion
* Shao Kahn
* Sonya Blade
* Taven

* 12 new playable characters

* Kano (hidden)
* Havik (hidden)
* Shang Tsung (hidden)

* Unplayable dragon sub-boss
* Unplayable female sorceress boss

Well I think Raiden could be the new major threat, using the Mortal Kombat tournament as part of the process to destroy the other realms in his ultimate quest to protect Earthrealm.
His bio and/or ending (can't remember) also said that he'd force Earthrealm warriors to fight for their home or he'd kill them, so I could see characters like Sonya coming back.
Of course we'll be seeing warriors from the realm Raiden's attacking trying to save themselves, so characters that could return mostly depends on which realm that is. Raiden could perhaps attack Outworld first? Who knows.
We'll also likely see characters opposing Raiden, maybe some returning characters.

So based on these, which characters could we possibly predict returning? Scorpion and Sub-Zero are a given, but you guys could think of reasons for them if you want.