There are new 23 (24 if you count Jason Voorhees) confirmed kombatants for MKX. The characters are as follows:
Cassie Cage
Johnny Cage
Sonya Blade
Jacqui Briggs
Jax Briggs
Kung Lao
Kung Jin
Kenshi
Takahashi Takeda
Raiden
Kitana
Sub-Zero
Scorpion
Quan Chi
Shinnok
Kano
Mileena
Reptile
D'Vorah
Ferr/Torr
Ermac
Kotal Kahn
Goro

The early character select screen had shown 24 character slots. There is now one more slot left. Speculating from the the most likely characters (from most to least actually) that would take the last slot is Reiko, Erron Black (a new character, which would bring the new character total to 7), and Rain.
Reiko could be the surprise returning main antagonist.
Erron Black could be a wild card, as he's a Black Dragon Mercernary and it would be cool to have more Black Dragon members in the game that aren't Jarek, Kira, or Kobra.
and Rain is just Rain.

DLC characters so far is the beloved, silent, machete wielding, hockey mask wearing Friday the 13th's Jason Voorhees.
Fan speculation and wishlists for possible guest characters include Predator from the eponymous Predator seriers, Todd MacFarlene's Spawn, and even the late frontman of GWAR, Oderus Urungus, played by Dave Brockie (which has a signature petition amount of 28,285/290,000. Here is the link if you, like me, desire more guest characters in MKX http://www.thepetitionsite.com/258/224/ ... -kombat-x/)


As for the storyline of MKX, it seems apparent that they skipped over the MK4 storyline, implied by Raiden's biography.
"Raiden's strength was further tested when an escaped Shinnok’s NetherRealm armies attacked an EarthRealm weakened by war. Ultimately Raiden imprisoned Shinnok again--this time in Shinnok's own Amulet."
While this was unexpected, it does leave space for more storytelling around the new altered timeline that revolves around the fresh meat--er, I mean new kombatants of MKX. However, that biography leads to some questions.
If Shinnok is playable, then does that mean he was released from the amulet or simply in the game because the game covers MK4?
(The second part of the question is similar to how Heihachi Mishima makes an appearance in Tekken 5. In the game's opening, he was apparently killed by a group of self-destructing Jack 4's, but his in-game, albeit non-canon, prologues and epilogues state his super endurance helped him survived the explosion and recuperate in time for the King of Iron Fist 5 Tournament. However, Tekken canon states Heihachi Mishima was out cold during the duration of Tekken 5, having not participated in the tournament. Heihachi Mishima is simply playable as he's an integral part of the Tekken storyline.)
Hard to word in a way it's easy to understand, is the playable Shinnok in MKX from before he was sucked into his amulet or after, and if it happens, he's released from the amulet?
Some other questions
Will some characters that won't make the roster that appear in the story mode as cameos eventually appear as DLC?
Will we get any more guest characters, such as Sony and Microsoft, maybe even Nintendo exclusive characters? Here's some suggestions
Sony: Kratos/Zeus/Deimos (God of War), Nariko (Heavenly Sword), Kat (Gravity Rush), Emmett Graves (Starhawk), Evil Cole MacGrath (inFamous)
Microsoft: Master Chief (Halo), Marcus Fenix (Gears of War), uhhhh I guess Spinal, B. Orchid, or Fulgore (Killer Instinct)
Nintendo: (This one was actually hard since I had to choose characters that weren't small and look humanoid and could fit in the MK Universe) Ganondorf (Legend of Zelda), Cereza (Bayonetta), Marth/Ike/Chrom (Fire Emblem), Samus Aran (Metroid), Reggie Fils-Aime (Nintendo of America), Simon Belmont (Castlevania)

Thoughts?

Errom Black is obviously gonna be there, and in case you didn't notice NRS expended the the roster slots to 26, so they can add more. So both Rain, Erron Black and Reiko can make the cut. And BTW, Rain isn't just "Rain", he's one of the more popular characters in MK history, hell I'm a fan of him.

And no I don't think that any exclusive guest characters for a specific system, especially that MKX won't make it to any Nintendo system but to the PC.

As for the story, that's not MK4's story, it is way diffrerent than this story, unlike MK9's story which was based on the story of K1-MK3. I do beleive that Shinnok will be playable, thorugh.

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No matter the form, Reptile is always awesome

Oh, I did not know that it was expanded. I do hope Erron Black makes it into the game. I know Rain is a popular character, but I meant how he was never an important part of the storyline other that being the prince of Edenia, a role that was never fleshed out. If Kitana was princess of Edenia, how come I haven't seen much of a connection between them?

I know it's not about MK4, I said the story mode of MKX will brush up on the events of MK4.

There is not that much connection between Rain and Kitana, they have different parents. Rain isn't really a prince as his parents weren't the rulers of Edenia, he just refers to himself as such.

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No matter the form, Reptile is always awesome

Oh, I see.
See, not that very important lol

The story seems really interesting. I love that it's set over two decades in the future and that the new playable characters are the offspring of popular past characters! I hope we find out who Jacqui's mother is (Jade maybe? o.o That would be rad!) and I cannot express how glad I am that Mileena is playable! That was really the deciding factor for me, because she's always been my favorite kombatant!

Actually he is important. Rain is the brother of Taven and Deagon, the 2 new fighters of MKA. Taven was the protagonist of the game while Daegon was the leader of the Red Dragon clan. So he's kinda important at least.

And to okest3r_13:
No Jade can't be Jacqui's mother because she got killed in MK9, and Kitana's 3rd variation is basically Jade's moveset from MK9.

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No matter the form, Reptile is always awesome

I know, but Rain had only played a minor role in MKA. His actions never really made a difference, despite being half-brothers of Taven and Daegon.
I just acknowledge that he has a strong fanbase and that he's an interesting character, but hasn't made an impact on the storyline since he came in at UMKIII/Trilogy.

Yeah that's true. I still wanna see him in thr game though.

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No matter the form, Reptile is always awesome

I would too, maybe he'll mean something this time lol