They already said there would be new characters as well.

I know they are making new characters. But if they decide to cut any characters they'd still have a small roster. They really can't afford to cut anybody.

Well I was thinking about the roster the other day and came up with this, I'm thinking we're probably going to get a roster of 26 playable characters (13 returning characters and 13 new characters) with two bosses.

Returning Characters:
1. Jago
2. Sabrewulf
3. Glacius
4. Chief Thunder
5. Cinder
6. Spinal
7. Fulgore
8. Black Orchid
9. Riptor
10. T.J Combo
11. Kim Wu
12. Maya
13. Tusk

Bosses:
Eyedol - Main Boss
Gargos - Sub Boss

New Characters:
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.

With Stryker, there was a lot to work with. All they had to do to make him not suck was make him look like a fit dude with a decent haircut and proper cop attire instead of Chief O'Brien from Star Trek DS9.

A pair of cave-people doesn't even fit the damn setting. It only worked because KI2 had that stupid plot about getting sucked back in time. This one is clearly going to take place in the present day given that Jago, Sabrewulf, and Glacius all have their own stages. What KI needs now is more Ultratech-related characters.

Please, stop state your specualtions as, if they are truth. We don't know almost anything about plot of the game, so anything can happen. If new KI is a sequel to the KI2, then its characters still can appear in it.
Besides, the only thing characters need as justification for their appearance - is developers desire. Your opinion about if they fit the setting or not is completely irrelevant.
They are still people who apparently think, that cyborgs do not fit MK'verse, while they were part of it for the last 18 years. The same goes for Nitara.

In the end amazon and barbarian are no less ridiculous then animated skeleton, intelligent raptor, man made of fire and ice alien. As long as they have decent design and gameplay there will not be problems with them.

Things I DO already know, from the developers themselves, which you would know too if you'd just watched the character gameplay videos on youtube or, really, just plain been paying attention to this thread:

1) This is a sequel, not a reboot.

2) Jago's stage is the temple where he used to worship the tiger god, but after he found out it was Gargos, he got all angsty and started tearing it down, which is why it looks kinda wrecked.

3) Sabrewulf has ripped off the cyborg arms Ultratech gave him in 2 and learned dark magic to grow back his own arms. Also, his attempts to find an alchemical cure for his lycanthropy have left him sort of a twitchy junkie with needle marks all over his arm.

4) His stage is his alchemical lab at his castle. A castle that didn't exist in KI2, in the ancient past, but does exist in the present day.

5) Glacius's spaceship is crashed in an arctic waste, with hints that, as the ship's engines are animated to fire up over the course of a fight (or maybe just when you do an Ultra combo), in the words of a dev, "he can finally get back home" - this coincides with his KI1 bio, not the bio of KI2 Glacius, who was a completely separate alien of the same race who visited Earth in the ancient past, whose ship didn't even crash.
6) Cinder and Chief Thunder, who will be returning in this game, weren't even sucked into the past to be part of the roster of KI2.

All of which adds up to, hey, the game takes place in the fucking present.

Sure, Tusk and Maya could have been sucked into the present when everybody in KI2 got back home, however it is they did so, but more to the point: I don't want them to come back. They were the worst. No matter how much the previously small roster of the KI games may need filling, I am completely confident that whatever new characters they make would be better than a pair of his and her's Tarzans.

My guess is that's exactly how they'll explain it. They got sucked forward in time. A quick mention, if they even mention it at all. Somehow, some way, they'll get Tusk and Maya in to the present. They were more or less the de facto symbols of KI2 given that they were the new kids at school and they were both on the arcade cabinet and what not (if I recall correctly).

It's a shame too. I never really liked Tusk and Never seemed to time Maya's forward flip move well, making her less than an ideal character for me, but Kim Wu was practically my main in KI2. Easily one of my series favorites, yet never seemed to get the hype that Tusk or Maya got.

This isn't a sequel, this new Killer Instinct is a series reboot confirmed by David Verfaillie.

http://www.vg247.com/2013/06/14/killer-instinct-reboot-was-microsofts-idea-says-dev/

That comment...doesn't make sense. You can fill a roster while cutting older characters.

What's the confusion? They could make new characters that replace Maya and Tusk for example, but you'd be down 2 characters since you cut their inclusion.

1) I guess you was just "fucking" disaproved. LOL.
1,1) Even if it's sequel (just in case) their presence can be easily explained.
2 and most important) Nobody care about your desires.
Have a nice day.

One thing I DO like is the fact that every character gets their own stage. Sabrewulf's stage is awesome, I love the full moon in the background. And Glacius' stage is amazing. The ship crash site is a fantastic detail, and the blizzard coming in during his Ultra is neat.

Only stage I'm iffy on is Jago's. Not terrible, but not that good either.

You can cut characters and replace them with new ones. This doesn't change the fact those characters were cut. This doesn't make it a smaller roster. Look at Street Fighter 3.

Don't confuse characters with roster count.

You're right, you can replace cut characters. However, had you kept them in you could've had the ones to replace them and the characters that were originally cut. So instead of just having the 2 replacements, you'd have Tusk, Maya, and the replacements. Making a larger character roster.

There's no reason to cut any characters either. Everybody has potential for a unique move set, so why scrap it?

IGN posted the full panel from Evo'13 on youtube. Worth a watch. All 90 minutes of it.
Full KI panel at Evo '13

I don't see anywhere in that that talks about the story.

They're probably misusing the term "reboot" the same way Mortal Kombat 9 claims to be one because it's a new engine, has a redone visual presentation, and has no number or subtitle in the name, but is actually a sequel to Armageddon story-wise.

The developers, in videos and at cons, have told people all the story stuff I listed, which refers directly to the events of KI2, establishing this is a continuation of the existing plot and not a restart from the beginning, which is what the word "reboot" is ACTUALLY supposed to mean.
Why would they be telling people how Sabrewulf got rid of his cyborg arms, or that Jago knows the Tiger God was a fake, if KI2 never happened in this continuity, you see what I'm saying?

Yes, I understand what your saying the game isn't really a reboot but sequel to KI2 but let's wait awhile and see how the plot plays outs

pretty much all the KI1 characters are returning for certain, KI2 and boss characters are another story but there is a lot of demand for them so I wouldn't cut them out. I predict we're looking at least 2-3 new characters, they are at least talking about one according to that list of stuff they posted a little bit ago.

Please let this not be the finished product. Saberwulf looking like a coyote o_o And that is *not* Glacius. That thing looks horrendous.

Yes, 3 characters is the finished product

wtf

Just curious, but does anyone know if the move lists for any of the characters have been published yet? Even a partial list, particularly special moves?

You and I both know he was talking about the character designs.

Fine. Judge a game by looks.

This is the problem with the new gaming generation. All anyone cares about are graphics.

Don't see the problem with wanting new character designs.

I prefer the redesigns because I think the old looks were fucking lame. Nothing about Saberwulf nor Glacius stood out, or was very memorable.