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WMG / Tekken 8

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Per wiki policy, Spoilers Off applies here and all spoilers are unmarked. You Have Been Warned.

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    Characters 
Returning fighters from 7
  • Leroy: An absolute fan-favorite from 7's roster, also, as established in Bloodline, a character with possible ties to Jin.
    • Confirmed!
  • Fahkumram: Still has an ongoing plot thread of serving time to reunite with his family. Also supplies the roster with a Muay Thai fighter.
  • Claudio: Much like Fahkumram, has an ongoing plot thread and was one of the more popular characters introduced in 7.
    • Confirmed!
  • Lidia Sobieska and Kunimitsu II: They were the two final newcomers of 7 and very popular fighters in their own right, and both were likely added while 8 was in early development; it's unlikely that Bandai Namco would only bring them back for 7 at that point if they didn't also intend to add them to 8.
    • Lidia Confirmed!
  • Josie Rizal: Having Taken A Level In Badass by successfully training to become part of the Tekken Force, Josie would serve as Distaff Counterpart to Fahkumram, being a Fragile Speedster to Fahkumram's Mighty Glacier (while possibly tying their stories together, i.e. Fahkumram and Josie being forced to fight each other when the Tekken Force and the army essentially holding Fahkumram's family hostage come to blows).
  • Lucky Chloe: Leaning very hard on her being a Bitch in Sheep's Clothing In-Universe, to the point she's the Perky Female Minion to Kazuya himself.
  • Geese Howard: Considering that SNK was generous enough to let Mai appear in two Dead or Alive games, bringing back Geese shouldn't be too much of a challenge, especially since he's a Creator's Favorite for Harada.

Returning fighters from other games.
  • Jun Kazama: Probably the most obvious veteran fighter to bring back, now that the conflict will be focusing on both Kazuya (her son's father) and Jin (her son).
    • Confirmed!
  • Nina Williams, Paul Phoenix, Yoshimitsu: Alongside Heihachi, these are the three characters to have appeared in every mainline entry thus far, and 8 likely won't deviate from this.
    • Paul Phoenix was confirmed in the trailer that played during the Game Awards. Verdict's still out on Nina and Yoshimitsu, though.
    • Nina confirmed!
    • Yoshimitsu confirmed!
  • Zafina: With the threat of the Devil Gene (and Azazel, who is sealed inside her body) still being focused on, she could be there to help ward it off from the rest of the world.
    • Confirmed!
  • Devil Jin: With the Devil Gene still being important to the story, it seems obvious to bring back Jin's devil form.
    • Confirmed!
  • Lili de Rochefort and Asuka Kazama: Too popular to not include in 8, they're almost certainly a given.
    • Asuka is confirmed. Jury's still out on Lili, but she likely isn't far behind.
    • Lili is confirmed now.
  • Lei Wulong, King II, Armor King II, Ling Xiaoyu, Hwoarang, Julia Chang, Kuma II, Panda: Similar to Nina, Paul, and Yoshimitsu, none of these characters have missed a game since their introductions into the series, not to mention that King, Armor King II, Julia, and Kuma also represent movesets originally used by characters from the first two games.
    • King II was confirmed in the trailer that played during the Game Awards.
    • Ling Xiaoyu confirmed!
    • Hwoarang confirmed!
    • Kuma II confirmed!
    • Panda confirmed!
  • Lee Chaolan, Lars Alexandersson, and Alisa Bosconovitch: Were all featured significantly in the story of 7 and are strongly linked to Jin and Kazuya.
    • Lars was confirmed in the trailer that played during The Game Awards.
    • Lee and Alisa confirmed!
  • Heihachi Mishima: Not resurrected or as a clone, but his past version will be playable through flashbacks to Kazuya and Jin's past, much like Kazumi in 7.
  • Bryan Fury: He may be no longer be relevant to any other character, but he’s still a popular character and is the resident Ax-Crazy fighter for Tekken to this day.
    • Confirmed!. His reveal trailer was accidentally posted on Instagram from Tekken's official account but was deleted shortly after.
  • Eddy Gordo: With Kazuya front-and-center as the Big Bad, and Eddy going back to hunt for him over the murder of his father (with little to no success, courtesy of Lucky Chloe), Eddy will likely be in this game to finish the job.
    • Confirmed as Season 1 DLC!
  • Feng
    • Confirmed!
  • Unknown: Jun appears to be a major character to the story, it would make sense to bring back her evil side form. Bonus points if she's the final boss.
  • Christie Monteiro: It would be nice to see her finally get the closure with Eddy the two of them so desperately need.
  • Ogre: Like Heihachi above, playable through flashbacks to Jin's past involving Jun, like Kazumi in 7.
  • Revenant: much like how Eliza was a character from a defunct spin-off who made it to 7.

Possible Guest Characters

New fighters joining in 8
  • Hitomi Kazama: Jun's sister. Before Tekken Tag Tournament became a non-canon game, she was going to be Unknown's identity.
  • Zoey, a.k.a. The “Female Tekken Force Soldier” - being a buxom Texan, she’ll likely be a Tina Armstrong/Dixie Clements Expy, being a female grappler with pro wrestling moves.
  • Miguel’s sister, who Came Back Wrong as a Zombie - since the reason she was scrapped was due to the devs not knowing how to make a “zombie fighting style” (especially due to perceiving the Zombie Gait as too slow for fighting games), her inclusion may borrow notes from Hisako of Killer Instinct (2013) - namely having Stringy-Haired Ghost Girl powers, and having a Running on All Fours forward dash to make up for their slow default speed of Ominous Walk.
  • A practitioner of Maori Martial Arts like Mau rãkau.
  • An Indonesian Pencak Silat fighter, either a Cowboy Cop or a Professional Killer working for the preman crime gangs (based on characters from The Raid movies, the way series supercop Lei Wulong was based on Jackie Chan)
  • An Alien
  • A cowboy practicing Chun Kuk Do
  • Marshall's grandson and Forest's son Newton Law.
  • Yappei, a failed attempt by the Mishima Zaibatsu to recreate their now-dead leader. Their name would be spelled (八平), an inversion of Heihachi's name (平八).
  • Giant Praying Mantis
  • Sake the Salmon
  • Shuwawei, a Taekwondo girl who would've appeared in Tekken Mobile before it was shut down.
  • Ganmi-chan, Ganryu's Fangirl who was scrapped to focus more on Ganryu himself.
  • Shin Kamiya from Tekken: Blood Vengeance.

    Story 
Much like, in the previous entry a Guest Fighter will play a significant role in the story.
  • Jossed. Tekken 8 doesn't even feature or mention Akuma, let alone a new guest fighter.

The war between Kazuya and Jin will end with both of them dead.
  • Given that Tekken 7 focused so heavily on the Mishima Bloodline and involved Kazuya directly ending Heihachi’s life, I’d say he’s almost surely going to die in this game. However, Jin has also done some pretty atrocious things and having him remain would continue the cycle, which the teaser seems to hint will be broken with its chain imagery.
  • Jossed. Jin survives in the canon ending, while Kazuya was defeated but was ultimately never finished off, being left in the hands of Jun. That said, the alternate Despair ending ends with Jin getting tossed off a cliff in classic Mishima tradition.

If the final fight is between Jin and Kazuya, they will change into their Devil forms for the final stretch.
  • Confirmed. However, Jin's use of his Kazama bloodline purifies his power to that of an angel, becoming Angel Jin. Before that, Kazuya fought and defeated Azazel, absorbing his power for himself and becoming True Devil Kazuya. Their forms and their devil powers are ultimately burnt out in the resulting clash, leading to both fighting as relatively unpowered humans.

A character from the original cast of Tekken will die.
  • Kazuya Mishima
  • Lee Chaolan
  • Marshall Law
  • Anna Williams
  • Nina Williams
  • Paul Phoenix
  • Michelle Chang
  • Ganryu
  • Kuma I: He has been declared missing by Harada. Tekken 8 will have him confirmed to have died in-between Tekken 2 and Tekken 3.
  • Wang Jinrei: He will die of old age, he is currently one-hundred-and-five years old. While he died in Tekken 6, it's not canon, but at the same time, his fate was left up in the air (even if he isn't in the game). Tekken Tag 2 outright mocks the devs for chickening out of Wang's death. in Wang's ending.
  • Kunimitsu I: She is described as very ill and might not have much time left in Kunimitsu II's bio.
  • Jack-8
  • Yoshimitsu
  • Prototype Jack 
  • Devil
  • Jossed. No one's death was confirmed by the end of the story mode. Even Kazuya's fate is ambiguous with Jun's arrival.

Heihachi will be brought back from the dead.
  • Heihachi will be brought back by the same demon that brought back his father Jinpachi. The demon will have its name revealed. After Heihachi is defeated, you will battle the demon in its true form, defeating it and putting it down for good.
  • Jossed. Heihachi does not come back beyond getting alluded to in one way or another.]]

There will be three endings for the main story mode, with the third being unlockable.
  • Ending 1: Jin kills Kazuya, but feels his Devil Gene about to take control again. Before fully succumbing to his demonic alter-ego, Jin performs a Heroic Sacrifice. The Bittersweet Ending, in that the Devil Gene no longer threatens the world, but the devastation of the Mishima-G. Corp War will take decades to repair (assuming the war isn't still going, just between the Mishima's former underlings), and Jin's Redemption Equals Death will be mourned by characters who wanted to save him.
  • Ending 2: Kazuya kills Jin (and Jun by extension, making him a Complete Monster), and proceeds to Take Over the World (OF COURSE!!!) - a straightforward Downer Ending, albeit with a Hope Spot of some new fighters planning to take down Kazuya's global empire.
  • Ending 3: Unlocked after getting the first two endings, Jin and Kazuya's Duel to the Death is interrupted by Asuka Kazama (or possibly Lars Alexanderson, or a Tekken 8-original character that takes the role of The Protagonist in the story mode). Asuka (or Lars, or Jun, or the Tekken 8 protagonist) proceeds to Beat The Devil Gene Out Of Jin - a bit too literally, as Devil Jin pops out of Jin's body even stronger now that Jin's morality isn't holding it back; after the player character defeats Devil Jin (killing it for good), Kazuya (who sat on the sidelines until Devil Jin was killed) is the True Final Boss, either with him Killed Off for Real, or being depowered of the Devil Gene, and forced to stand trial for his many, MANY crimes. The Golden Ending (if still somewhat bittersweet in places, what with that whole "Global War Jin started in an attempt to get rid of Devil Gene by killing Azazel").
    • Alternatively, in Ending 3, Kazuya absorbs the separated Devil Jin after the playable character defeats Devil Jin. Kazuya uses Devil Jin's power to enhance his devil form for the True Final Boss battle.
    • Another alternative for Ending 3, the above scenario get switched around. Kazuya gets depowered of the Devil Gene by Jin absorbing Kazuya's Devil instead. Devil Jin then turns into One-Winged Angel like seen in his 5 ending (either redesigned or not), with Kazuya meeting his final fate of a stand trial or being killed by said Devil Jin, before the True Final Boss battle of literally Beating The Devil Gene Out Of Jin.
    • Alternative ending: While Asuka came to depower Jin, Jun does the same to Kazuya. In a rather impossible moment, Jun actually manages to induce a My God, What Have I Done? to Kazuya when he's slightly depowered of his Devil Gene, for a moment, he felt like he's back under the loving embrace of Jinpachi (Kazumi is excluded due to her reveal in 7). However, in the last moment, Kazuya shoves Jun away (instead of killing her) and challenges Jin for one true final battle. And in the end, Kazuya is defeated and reveals that this is only a natural outcome: He's gone way too far and death is the only way for him, and he wants to know if his son is strong enough to kill him. He's still adhering his old principles that the strong tramples the weak, but clearly Jun's effort is bearing fruit, she manages to induce Death Equals Redemption on Kazuya, as planned with Word of God (and he'd rather be hoping if anyone's strong enough to kill him, it'll be his son. As a bonus, he may quote his winning line against Heihachi: "A fight is about who's the last one standing. Nothing more. Nothing less."). As his last words, Kazuya tells Jin to not sugarcoat their story: tell the world that Kazuya is the devil that was successfully stopped, that he will go down in history as a monster. The story ends with Jin, in an effort to not repeat what Kazuya and Heihachi did to each other, deals with Kazuya's corpse by cremating him and then spread his remains to somewhere like the sea (separate places), just so no one will find his remains and then revive him, bringing back the reign of terror just like in Tekken 4. Afterwards, he's ready to face what may come in the future: Paying for his sins since Tekken 6 or rebuilding the world.
  • Jossed. There's only two, and are effectively alternate versions of the same ending. Regardless, the Devil Gene was burnt out of both Jin and Kazuya, so the proposed Ending 1 is Jossed. There is no interruption that takes place either, so Ending 3 is also Jossed. Ending 2 is actually confirmed, albeit with Kazuya no longer having the Devil Gene.]]

Jun's abilities comes from the same source as Angel, if not becoming the canon version of Angel outright.
While it could easily be due to the fact she hasn't made many appearances in the series, Jun appears to have now obtained some sort of magical ability, being noticeably more holy-seeming than her devilish husband and son. With Angel never having a definitive canon appearance (seeing how Harada retconned Angel's existence as a part of Kazuya's consciousness) within the Tekken series, and the fact Devil was retconned into being one with Kazuya, perhaps the same will be done here with Jun and Angel.
  • If this is true, perhaps she managed to obtain her powers after her battle with Ogre, either gaining them while on the cusp of death or returning to life through them.

We will get a canonical conclusion about Jun and Unknown in this game
  • Throughout Jun's sporadic appearances in the Tag Tournament series, we're led to believe that she's Unknown. However, in the trailers of 8, Jun seems more connected with Angel. This game may be the time to explain just what the hell is Unknown and how is she connected with Jun despite her seemingly being more associated with angelic light this time.
  • It'll be canonically confirmed that Unknown really is Jun's long lost sister, who was abducted and experimented on years ago before meeting the Wolf Spirit.
    • Jossed. Unknown is not mentioned at any point, but rather rendered non-canon.]]

Jin will be happy with Jun's return, but there's just one nagging question that he will ask in this game.
"Of all people to ask for help in case something happened to you... why Heihachi Mishima?"

Jun will have A LOT to answer in terms of why she chose Heihachi as the person to train Jin, which led to a majority of Jin's suffering. Her answer will be somewhere along one of these:

If this is the true Grand Finale, Paul will have a true showdown with Kazuya for real.
Paul's new render looks much more serious than he has ever looked, especially with his iconic hair gone. Given the seemingly Darker and Edgier tone of this game, it's possible Paul will be taken seriously again, at least somewhat. Point is, near the end as Kazuya and Jin are meeting for their final battle, Paul will show up one last time to challenge Kazuya and prove himself to be the strongest warrior. A fight where the player controls Paul would start against Kazuya. Paul would finally get his victory against Kazuya, with Paul finally proud of him defeating his old rival, then leaving like how he left after "defeating" Ogre. Afterwards, the real battle between Kazuya and Jin would start.

Every single fighter from the previous games will appear in the story.
Some will be major characters like Jin, Jun, Kazuya and Paul. Other characters like King I, Armour King I, Roger Sr, Alex and Combot will just appear as cameos.

The non-Mishima/Kazama characters will have their current story arc wrapped up in this game.
This is most likely to please fans of the non-Mishima character. And in case they return for a new main story arc that has nothing to do with the Mishima clan for Tekken 9 and forward, they will have a new story going or honorably retired. Of course, this is considering the characters make it to the roster anyway...
  • Paul will finally get a little more serious. Rather than being the joke, he will remember his rivalry with Kazuya. And noticing that Kazuya has wreaked havoc in this world, he feels like he has to do his part to give a fistful to Kazuya as his original rival, rather than leaving it all to Jin. He trains very hard to make sure that even if Kuma is there to block him again, Paul can still sweep through it and face Kazuya with full force.
    • And his ending will be more reminiscent to his ending at Tekken 4: Paul will realize at how his cockiness which started with how he defeated Ogre led him. He thought he'd be doing better by proving himself as the toughest of the universe since Tekken 5, but after all his experiences, he decided that this is not the way. Even when people praised him as one of the people who brought down Kazuya, Paul has been humbled enough with decades of miseries. He takes one motor ride and the last he's seen is... his old bar. He used to work as a bouncer since Tekken 1. Now he's back into it with bigger perspective in life. (Though the bar will be destroyed because of the war, but Paul will help rebuild it)
  • Law will conclusively pay off his debt one way or another, saving both his son and his restaurant chain. How he does that, we don't know yet. Though considering his Bruce Lee homage thing, it's possible that he may be invited to do some movie stint, finds out he's good at it, and then uses his new work style to pay off his debts.
  • King II will find a way to make sure that Armor King II and Craig Marduk will finally bury the hatchet for good without anyone retiring or disgracing themselves. Additionally, he may also find a way to save his orphanage and make sure it stands strong for years to come.
  • Nina and Anna will get into one final duel to decisively end their rivalry. Steve will somehow interfere, and accidentally say something that will remind them of their father trying to make them get along. They finally bury their hatchet and go separate ways, no bullying the other. Nina still won't be Steve's mom, but she wishes him good luck in life.
    • Alternatively, like 7 ending between Kazuya and Heihachi, the hatched was never buried to the point that Nina or Anna kills one of them for good.
  • Eddy will find closure about his father's murder hit by Kazuya, either by confronting him or finding a solace that Jin makes Kazuya pay for his damages. Meanwhile, Christie (playable or not), confronts him and manages to state that she forgives him for his events at Tekken 6, they both go home to Brazil in peace.
  • Yoshimitsu goes after Kunimitsu II and manages to convince her to return his cursed sword to him, not wanting the danger to spread further (even if he'll have to admit his defeat in 7 later so Kunimitsu II is satisfied). Along the way, he may have a final showdown with Bryan Fury, most likely teaming up with Kunimitsu II to put an end to the madman once and for all.
    • Yoshimitsu will let Kunimitsu I hold the sword long enough to take it to her Grandfather's grave and finally show him the sword he want to replicate, afterwards Kunimitsu I will return the sword to Yoshimitsu and they will finally bury the hatchet and become friends again... or Kunimitsu I finally dies due to her sickness, but she passes in peace knowing that she managed to fulfill her grandfather's will while she lived. Yoshimitsu helps Kunimitsu II bury her mother and pays his final respect before parting with the whole family in peace. And in the same time, Kunimitsu II finally and wholly becomes the one and only Kunimitsu at the moment.
    • Alternatively Kunimitsu I will forge a copy of the sword, before showing the copy of the sword to her Grandfather's grave. Afterwards she will give the sword powers to keep the sword Yoshimitsu in check, however to do requires the sword to absorb Kunimitsu I's soul. The sword will be called Kunimitsu after it's maker and Kunimitsu II will give the sword to Yoshimitsu to protect him from the sword Yoshimitsu.
  • Asuka finally has had enough of Lili's constant pestering and trolling and socks her for good, telling her that there are bigger stakes to face compared to their petty rivalry. After learning the dire situation, even Lili had to agree with Asuka and she dedicates whatever wealth she and her family still has to put an end to the giant war caused. Maybe even have Lili join Asuka in settling things with Jin and the Mishimas, whom Lili also has a grudge with for bankrupting her father's oil company, becoming more friendly and respectful to each other in the process. Months passed and as the world is rebuilding, both of them can be seen walking together in a new school. No pranks, no beating, just normal friends walking for a new day in school.
    • Alternatively, Asuka's rivalry with Lili gets a deeper meaning. With Lili being Eliza's sister and all. Lili has been seeking Asuka's Angel Gene because of her own vampire powers so they could be tamed. It is also revealed that Asuka is in fact, Kazuya's and Jun's second child. And that Kazuya entrusted her with Jun's brother in the wake of Ogre's awakening and onslaught.
  • Likewise, Julia has a final confrontation with Ganryu and tells him that his manners are not exactly one to earn respect. If he wants respect, he probably could do something about the war going around him. Ganryu then has a soul-searching, on how he used to be a corrupt man (Tekken 1 & 2) until he tried to come clean (Tekken 5 onwards). Finally deciding that Good Feels Good, he then dedicates himself to stop his old employer, not just as a Dogged Nice Guy to try winning Julia's heart, but also to show that he has changed for good.
  • Miguel will finally try to confront Jin for good, but has a hard time recognizing that he's trying to atone. Miguel ends up witnessing the final confrontation and climax between Jin and Kazuya, and recognized that he's actually serious in atonement. In the end, Miguel finds it in his heart to forgive Jin and move on, with him visiting his sister's grave in the end.
    • Alternatively, Miguel ends up becoming similar to Eddy in Tekken 6: Still unable to forgive Jin, he ends up signing under Kazuya's command in order to have a shot against Jin. He then either realizes his mistake by following Kazuya and then realizing that Kazuya is about to cross a line not even he's willing to do, or he actually encounters Eddy himself and gets talked down (after a fight, of course) that Kazuya is actually evil, may be worse than Jin, and Miguel is blinded by vengeance, just like how Eddy was blinded on trying to save his master. He convinces Miguel to turn away so he doesn't make the same mistake like Eddy, and Miguel finds out that Eddy is right. Either way, in both cases, the ending is the same as mentioned above.
    • Also alternatively, his ending in 7 is expanded upon, revealing that the other reason Jin was willing to let Miguel kill him was because he was able to properly defeat him, and that Miguel decided to wait until Jin was also in a better enough state for them to settle it in a bigger fight. Jin for his part plans on doing his best to survive against Kazuya to give others like him that chance. Hwoarang could also be involved, possibly referencing 6's Scenario Campaign where Miguel apparently worked with him. Whatever happens next depends on wether or not Jin surives the final battle.
  • Kuma II at first wanted to avenge his master Heihachi, but because of the lack of Heihachi, the Zaibatsu in disarray and no one wants to listen to a bear, and Panda is still not giving him the time of the day. Kuma II starts to lose his own will to fight and even live because only Heihachi understands him. He even loses to Paul easily. However, salvation comes in form of Jun. Since she used to be an Animal Protection Officer, she decides to release Kuma II to the wild where he can meet his fellow bears and interact. It's exactly what Kuma II needs to regain his will to live in a world without Heihachi.
  • Leo will finally find out what happened to their Disappeared Dad and, assuming he's alive, he'll help them out with stopping Kazuya for good, finally avenging Leo's mom's death. (Steve Fox could also be involved somehow)

Jun's whereabouts
Jun's confirmed in this game to be alive. Let's start making guesses on just what she was doing between the fateful battle against Ogre until her return.
  • Theory 1: Jun was rendered unconscious, but not dead after fighting Ogre. During this time, a spirit vied for her presence and soul. This spirit is what we will recognize as Unknown. Jun's body is imprisoned in the underground for safe-keeping and her soul is yanked away from her body to be devoured by Unknown. Jun, however, did not take it lightly. Therefore, her soul continuously fought against the Unknown spirit, all of which spanning over decades of the events of Tekken 3 to 7. By the time 8 comes around, Jun has defeated the Unknown spirit and it has acknowledged her strength and willpower. They merge, and Jun returns to her body. Her prison has a slower time flow, so Jun's body only aged a little, allowing her to age a bit and stay a little youthful than other ladies of her age. Jun then resurfaces to finish what she started: redeeming Kazuya. Also additionally putting an end to the whole world conflict (and help her son Jin do it too).
  • Her fateful battle against Ogre will be playable as flashback, like Heihachi's against Kazumi in 7. Likely her battle with the Unknown spirit too.

This game will be the prologue/first entry in a new story arc for Tekken
While this game depicts the final battle between Jin and Kazuya, Katsuhiro Harada went on record saying that Tekken 7 was the Grand Finale of the story arc that began since the series' debut. Because of that 8 could be conceived as the first entry in the second Tekken saga, which begins with Jin vs. Kazuya and spirals into something new.

The True Ending will involve Reina becoming Tekken 8’s Villain Protagonist
Considering what little her reveal trailer shows has her gunning for both Jin and Kazuya, and powerful enough to rival both (to say nothing of her possibly being Heihachi’s secret daughter), it’s likely her time in Tekken 8 will be setting her up as the villain for the next story arc, and the True Final Boss for Tekken 9. This may possibly involve Reina gatecrashing the final duel between Jin and Kazuya, and defeating (possibly outright killing) at least Kazuya, with Jin either also defeated, but barely escaping with the help of his friends, and/or Asuka Kazama stepping up to (seemingly) defeat Reina (complete with Reina seemingly being Buried Alive, but eventually punching her fist out of the rock pile like Heihachi after Akuma buried him in Tekken 7).

Either way, The Stinger will have Reina become the new Corrupt Corporate Executive of the Mishima Zaibatsu (or alternatively take the remnants of the Tekken Force into a Shadaloo-style terrorist organization), and Asuka Kazama training to stop her, setting herself as The Protagonist for Tekken 9 as Jin (for whatever reason) bows out of the role.

Kazuya won't be the Big Bad of Tekken 8, but the Disc One Final Boss
Considering how vastly outnumbered Kazuya is by Jin's allies. There is a possibility that Kazuya will be dealt with halfway through the story(or Kazuya defeats Jin halfway through the story instead) and the actual villain will be the central threat from then on, which will force Kazuya and Jin to join forces. Said villain could either Reina, with Kuma being The Dragon or it could be Jun(and by extension Unknown).

Team Jin or Team Kazuya
The story trailer shows that the entire roster will be involved in story mode (few of them didn't appear to very likely avoid spoilers), and will split into two factions in similar vein to Mortal Kombat 1.

Team Jin:

  • Jin Kazama
  • Jun Kazama
  • Lars Alexandersson
  • Alisa Bosconovitch
  • Lee Chaolan
  • Victor Chevalier
  • Raven
  • Reina
  • Claudio Serafino
  • Zafina
  • Ling Xiaoyu
  • Panda
  • Hwoarang
  • Leroy Smith
  • Emilie "Lili" De Rochefort
  • King II
  • Kuma II
  • Steve Fox
  • Asuka Kazama
  • Shaheen
  • Paul Phoenix
  • Eleonor "Leo" Kliesen

Team Kazuya:

  • Kazuya Mishima
  • Nina Williams
  • Jack-8
  • Mass-produced Jack-7 (NPC)
  • Sergei Dragunov
  • Azucena Milagros Ortiz Castillo
  • Feng Wei
  • Bryan Fury
  • Marshall Law (out of desperation for money.)

Neutral:

  • Devil Jin
  • Yoshimitsu (not part of Jin's side and he's very likely dealing with Bryan elsewhere off-screen.)

Possible affiliations of unconfirmed characters
As noted above, the fact that the characters were split into opposing Jin and Kazuya factions also opens possibility of unconfirmed characters joining either side, which could include but not limited to:

Team Jin:

  • Eddy Gordo: If his teaser trailer is an indication where he tried to kick Nina's face, Eddy will only join Jin's side just for his personal task to seek revenge against Kazuya.
    • Confirmed. However, Eddy abandoned his quest for vengeance, now seeking redemption and saving people as many as he can.
  • Julia Chang: Considering that she was spying on G Corporation on behalf of Lee and Violet Systems, its almost given that she will join Jin's side alongside Lee and Lars.
  • Lei Wulong: In Tekken 6, he was investigating Kazuya and G Corporation for their possible escalation of the war and almost got himself compromised if not for Lars and Alisa's intervention. As such he would likely join Jin's side, both to express his gratitude for the Yggdrasil as well as stopping another tyrant.
  • Lidia Sobieska: The fact that Kazuya threatens to wipe out entire countries off the map possibly would not bode well for the Polish Prime Minister. Thus she would likely join Jin's side to prevent another occupation of her country by a tyrannical MegaCorp forces.

Team Kazuya

  • Bruce Irvin: In Tekken 6, he's the one who helped Kazuya on his takeover of G Corporation and later becomes the leader of an elite forces that directly answer to Kazuya. It's likely that he would continue to aid Kazuya by joining his side
  • Miguel Caballero Rojo: He probably hasn't let go of his hatred of Jin who were responsible for the airstrike that killed his sister and thus would likely join Kazuya's side to enact his revenge on the Kazama.
  • Fahkumram: The corrupt Thai government officials who are using him would likely trying to curry favor with G Corporation and thus forcing the Muay Thai fighter to work with Kazuya against his will.
Alternate Affiliations:
  • Miguel Caballero Rojo: An Enemy Mine with Team Jin wouldn't really be as hard when he's not the only person there calling him out in some form or another, so that gives him more to agree with besides how Kazuya isn't any better. If anything, Miguel was at least able to get Jin to respect him as early as their last encounter.

Reina is a Manchurian Agent implanted with Heihachi's memories as another failsafe to get rid of Kazuya in the event Heihachi died.
As far as the story's concerned, Reina seems to have come from out of nowhere, and none of the Mishimas recognize her, but she recognizes them. Coupled with her win quote against Kazuya talking about cliffs, it seems quite likely that Heihachi was really Crazy-Prepared when it came to getting rid of Kazuya.
  • Jossed. She is Heihachi's illegitimate daughter.

    Post-Release 
There will be a massive Time Skip similar to the one between the second and third games between Tekken 8 and Tekken 9
This could solidify that the Tekken series will officially enter a new saga after six games focusing on Jin.

Reina will be the focal character of Tekken 9

Kazuya is still alive and under the care and surveillance of Jun in Tekken 9
And he's most likely going to take the characterization of a Retired Monster: He doesn't regret the atrocities he did, but he's come to terms with how he has reached the end of the line of his lifestyle of conflict and conquest. At this point, he's just content in living a secluded life with the only person he ever respects (Jun).

"Tekken 9" will have Asuka be the one going up against Reina
Jin finally seems to have found some peace following resolving his conflict with the Kazuya and the Devil Gene, which will push Asuka Kazama to take the reins as the new protagonist for the next game. Reina, who by all accounts is the Mishima-counterpart of Asuka, show in the secret ending that the Mishima bloodline and the Devil Gene are far from dead-in-the-water. In Asuka's non-canon Tekken 5 ending, it's shown that she possesses an innate power to nullify or sooth the devil powers within Devil Jin. With most of the Mishima conflict wrapped up and with the apparent return of Jun, perhaps Tekken 9 will focus more on the members of the Kazama family.

The next saga's main antagonist
  • Reina
  • Remnants of Azazel (Hachijo clan, for example)
  • Ogre (may be recontextualized to fit the current role, saving him from being a Giant Space Flea Out Of Nowhere)
  • That mysterious entity possessing Jinpachi in 5 (Identity reveal)
  • Whatever is involved with Eliza.
  • A completely new threat
  • Unknown
  • Dr. Abel (Bryan's bio in 8 makes mention of him without namedropping, and he has worked behind the scenes to further enable Bryan and his reactor. With that said, he's known to be the truly Evil Counterpart of Dr. Bosconovitch and also wants to Take Over the World... so with Kazuya out of the picture, this may be his time to strike out, even if he may have to suck up with whoever is in charge for now.)
  • The evil spirit contained inside Yoshimitsu's sword.

Jin will still have to clean up for his acts in Tekken 6
True, he accomplished his goal to defeat Kazuya and (mostly) rid the world of the Devil Gene. However, several characters who were hurt more than usual in Tekken 6 will still hold a beef against Jin, and it'll be up to Jin to clear up that image more personally, sometimes with the help of his friends who still stick with him. In other words, he's Easily Forgiven by some, but another camp defies that treatment. If the atonement does not come up in the DLC, then it can be taken to the future Tekken 9 (which may justify Jin's return despite completing his arc in 8):
  • While he still wants a piece of Kazuya, Eddy will also take his time to confront Jin and remind him that his master, Christie's grandfather, is dead because of his neglect. This time, Jin can afford to show his remorse and condolences over Eddy's loss.
  • Miguel will come off worse due to his emotional state. He may become too Blinded by Rage to ignore Jin's accomplishments or Kazuya's atrocities; even if the world is saved, it doesn't bring back his sister, and he still holds Jin responsible. Even moreso, he wants to keep his word in Tekken 7: Trying to kill Jin when he's at his most triumphant. At this point, either Jin has to show his new resolve to live (while also apologizing) or Jin's friends (especially Xiaoyu or Hwoarang) will have to step up and defend Jin while trying to convince Miguel.

Kazuya will still play a part in the story, but as a supporting character and/or Nominal Hero
Kazuya, now under heavy security watch from Yggdrasil and by extension Jun, will be forced to cooperate with them in order to take down the new main villain, most likely Reina in their quest to eliminate the Devil gene. While Kazuya is still one who would do this for his own self-interests, it would be cool to see him more "casually" interact with his other family (Lars, Lee, Jin, etc.) as they now are on the same side.
The next Bandai Namco intro screen
In 8, it was Jin and Kazuya again but with their new default outfits. For 9, I'm thinking it's Kazuya and Jin side-by-side punching Reina who is trying to block both hits at the same time.

The next saga may see the return of Angel
With Devil 'mostly' gone, I think it'll be fitting to see the return of Angel, since the Kazama power and clan lore have yet to be fully explored (beyond the power being able to purify the Devil Gene) and it may link well with Angel. Not to mention that Jin's 11th-Hour Superpower is called Angel Jin...

Marshall Law is going to face a bigger crisis next game

He might have gotten a happier ending with the Hope ending, and perhaps with the better development in the world, he might have gotten what he wanted: saving his dojo. However, Marshall is now one of the main chew toys of the game. The next game will give him yet another misfortune, one that might not heavily involve money after all.

Everything's going great with Marshall. His dojo is finally saved, and thanks to his participation in his relief effort, he has enough money to restart his Marshall China restaurant. In other words, he can finally say good-bye to his Perpetual Poverty. He goes home happily and finds... an empty home with a divorce paper inside. Apparently, in his quest to save his dojo, he somehow has forgotten about his own family (which explains how, after Tekken 6, Marshall has been taking the Jerkass Ball or becoming more money-obsessed without ever mentioning Forest). A mysterious benefactor helped in at least paying Forest's hospital bills. Said mysterious benefactor hit it well with Mrs. Law and convinced her to divorce with Marshall, with the justification that he's loving money more than his own family.

Even worse, the benefactor revealed Marshall's stint with the G Corporation just for the sake of money. Enhancing this statement is his discovery of recorded audio footage of Law's duel with Paul, where Law sounded more money-obsessed than ever. This convinced Mrs. Law that the Marshall she loved was gone. All she saw was just a money-grubbing, selfish man without principles.

With everything related to money settled now, Marshall has realized his own folly for his family; even she took Forest with her, and even Forest agreed that his father abandoned him. Now, Marshall uses his money to travel the world to look for his family and apologize before all of his efforts are rendered All for Nothing. Perhaps he will even have to make the big decision to sacrifice everything, from his dojo to his restaurant, just to have his family back. Or perhaps it'll end in another hilarious failure, akin to Roger and his kangaroo family.

    DLC Predictions 
Returning Characters
  • Eddy Gordo
    • Already confirmed for Season 1
  • Fahkumram
  • Anna Williams
  • Lidia Sobieska
    • Confirmed for Season 1
  • Miguel Rojo
  • Armor King II
  • Julia Chang
  • Lei Wulong
  • Alex
  • Craig Marduk
  • Bruce Irvin
  • Bob Richards
  • Lucky Chloe
  • Gigas
  • Josie Rizal
  • Roger Jr.
  • Mokujin
  • Tetsujin
  • Kinjin
  • Ogre
  • Combot
  • Roger Sr
  • Kunimitsu II
  • P-Jack
  • Christie Monteiro
  • Unknown
  • Wang Jinrei
  • Ganryu
  • Master Raven
  • Baek Doo San
  • Angel
  • Devil Kazuya
Tekken Mobile Characters
  • Bo "Rodeo" Montana
  • Revenant
  • Shuwawei (Taekwondo Girl)
Newcomers
  • Devil Reina
  • A robotic duplicate of the late Heihachi that utilizes his moveset
  • Niklas Kliesen
  • Shin Kamiya
Guest Characters

Story DLC Predictions
  • Jun's side story: What Jun was doing throughout the events of The Dark Awakens before finding Kazuya. There may also be various flashbacks of their interactions in Tekken 2, perhaps showcasing the rare noble sides of Kazuya before he fully committed to evil, but it was enough to convince Jun to fully redeem him come what may.
  • Leo's story: What Leo was doing before meeting Jin in The Dark Awakens, as well as reuniting with their father. Niklaas may also have additional details about the history of Azazel and those being allowed to spread the Devil Gene.
  • Eddy's story: Either a Character Story, or a set of bonus scenarios happening within The Dark Awakens. We may even get to know who this 'figure he hasn't met for years' as heard in his bio, because the identity is still not clear. And it cannot be his master because he's already dead.

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