We can see in a trailer that Raiden is fighting against Liu Kang. Liu Kang is definately playable. He has not been officially confirmed but barring any NPC's, Liu Kang is playable.

Accidentally hit post before finishing... Yes, Liu Kang definitely in.

I don't think you missed anybody TS. I'm avoiding that JamesMK stuff, I don't want the full roster spoiled like that (apparently he was correct predicting/leaking? the MKX roster).

Wasn't Jade referenced by one of the pro players at the reveal? Thought she was, though that hardly confirms anything, indicates .people are thinking she should return. Also I think Smoke's return would make alot of sense.

We can see in the towers of time you can "summon" playable characters on to the screen. These characters are Scorpion, Sub-Zero, Raiden and Baraka. For Rain, Cyrax, Shinnok and Reptile, they are assists and actually don't appear on screen. I don't think Shinnok, Rain, Reptile or Cyrax are playable in my opinion.

I think Kitana, Liu, Lao & Cassie are in. They all looked like they had too much work put into them to not be playable (as opposed to say, Shinnok, who looked exactly the same). Granted, people say, "Well Rain & Tanya had new models in MKX and they weren't playable" ... and to that I say, "Well Rain & Tanya are Rain & Tanya, and Liu Kang & Kitana are Liu Kang & Kitana. Don't pretend we can't all recognize the difference."

I'm not convinced on Cage & Kano yet. I could see them both being in, easily, but I don't think the evidence is irrefutable just yet.

I want to believe Noob is in, and I think the icon is a good sign, but we'll see. Either way, he feels due after sitting out MKX.

I'm not convinced yet on Rain. I'm not even convinced the back of the guy's head we saw on the menu 100% IS Rain. It looks vaguely kinda like him, but... I'm not sold yet.

I think Rain, Reptile, Shinnok & Cyrax's abilities being tower assists is a strike against them, and it doesn't bode well for any of them. And frankly, I don't think any of the four of them is essential. (Though don't get we wrong, I really like a couple of them. I've always had a soft spot for Reptile, despite not playing him much, and I mained Cyrax in MK9, in point of fact. I just think the assists are a bad sign.)

Oh, and I don't think the two player cards referencing Jade & Rain mean diddly squat. People are putting way too much stock in that. They flat out said they didn't mean diddly squat, and we've seen NO indication that these guys had seen any more of the game than anyone else on reveal day.

I agree. I think the ability assists are a strike against them. There were other ability assists in mkx (actually I think cheap was one of them) and it resulting in non-playability.

i have a feeling that reptile and ermac will be replaced by noon and smoke this time around.

I would assume Ermac and Shang Tsung. I hope!

I hope Shang Tsung is in. I really would love Reiko but seeing as there isn’t many spots left I doubt it. Reiko would be good and I can imagine some good interaction with Skarlet

I think they previously said there won’t be any non-playable NPC fights in story mode this time (like Rain and Baraka were before). So based on footage we’ve seen of Liu Kang and Kung Lao, it’s pretty safe to say they’re confirmed.

I'm pretty much resigned to not expecting much from the remaining spots. The roster is much smaller than I expected and with Boon talking about this game bringing back tons of fan favorites- I think it's pretty obvious the remaining characters will look like this-

8) Liu Kang

'9) Kitana

10) Cassie Cage

11) Kabal

12) Johnny Cage

13) Jade

14) Mileena

15) Jax

16) Reptile

17) Cyrax

18) Sektor

19) Smoke

20) Noon Saibot

21) Shang Tsung

22) NEW

23) NEW

24) Kronika

25) Shao Kahn

One safe and predictable roster. There's no way they're going to leave Mileena out, not when she's an insanely popular character AND a must have for most- besides, Baraka have shown us that they can easily side-step her MKX death by either going the clone route or simply bringing in a Mileena from an earlier point in time. Too easy.

Reptile and Jax's track record are damn near spotless- they are ALWAYS there- so I don't see that changing especially for a game that's all about bringing back fan favorites. I could do without both, honestly, but they are totally going to be in.

I think I have to face reality and realize that the 3D era characters are indeed blacklisted from the current franchise with the exception of Kenshi, Quan Chi and the occasional Tanya./Bo'Rai Cho. Perhaps a bone will be thrown and Fujin may be DLC but I'm starting to doubt even that.

Just guessing here, but based on what we’ve seen plus my own guesses:

Noob: If this is a fan service game, he’s clearly one of the most popular among fans. Seeing him on one of the cards only further enforces the idea that he has a strong chance to be in.

Rain: I think many fans assumed he’d be in after his cameo in MKX. Assuming he’s the one on the card in MK11, I’d say he has at least a 50/50 chance. I could see him taking Tanya’s place at Kotal Khan’s side while still scheming for his own ends.

Kano: While I wouldn’t mind him sitting out a game, there just seems to be so many hints that he’s returning. We don’t know if Kabal is Black Dragon in this game, but if he’s not, it seems kinda odd that they’d use the Black Dragon for a stage and not have any members on the roster. Plus he’s hinted at in one of the cards.

Jade: Highly conspicuous by her complete absence in MKX aside from Kitana’s ending, now seems like a good time to bring this heavily rumored fan favorite back, perhaps to help her friend return from a date she wasn’t supposed to have? I don’t know how much of a role the mysterious woman in her MK9 ending will play, but I’ll be surprised if they leave Jade out again.

Shang Tsung: His return was hinted at in MKX, and given that Quan Chi seems at least somewhat likely to sit out MK11, now seems like as good a time as any for his return. Plus, if there’s time hijinks going on and his island appears as one of the stages, it kinda makes sense he’d be back.

Fujin: He’s highly requested, he had a cameo in MKX, and now seems like the perfect time to bring him back. I mean, they have to have SOME 3D era representation, don’t they? Yeah yeah, MK4 is between eras or whatever, I get it. But as far as non-Trilogy characters go, he seems more likely than anyone not named Kenshi or Quan Chi.

Sareena: The biggest long shot of this group, she has her fans, she made a cameo appearance in MKX, and now seems like as good a time as any to bring her back.

Erron Black: Could be Kotal Khan for story reasons, but given how popular Black was, and the fact that there’s only one MKX newbie returning, I have to think they have one more coming (at least). If Kotal makes the roster, I could see Black and perhaps even Takeda as well ending up as DLC.

Smoke / Enenra: I know the generic ninja card doesn’t do much to prove he’s in, but he’s also a fan favorite that made a brief cameo in MKX, so I think he’s got a shot.

New Character: Maybe it’s Kano’s son, maybe it’s a new monster character of some sort, but either way I have to think there are at least three new characters on the base roster.

Other characters I also think are possible: Sindel, Cyrax, Jax, Kenshi, Ermac, Reptile, Quan Chi, Dvorah, Ferra / Torr.

Some of these are just too popular with the fanbase and with NRS to not at least consider. I could see a cyber ninja making the cut due to popularity, Sindel is popular and had an MKX cameo, Kenshi and Quan Chi have been in almost every MK game since their first appearances and tend to be the 3D era representatives, Ed loves F/T and so on and so forth.