Starfox series
As long as Fox and Falco aren't too similar like usual and Fox no longer sounds like Scrappy from Scooby Doo, I'm fine with whatever. Krystal is a huge favorite that I see having potential but other than that, I'm clueless about the Starfox series.
Pokemon series
The most likely option is that Nintendo will remove one Pokemon (besides Pikachu and Jigglypuff) and replace them with another, probably a Pokemon from Sun/Moon or even one of the Pokemon game coming out on the Switch. Lastly, we need a Detective Pikachu alternate costume!
Other First Party characters
I put the rest of these in the one category (besides the third party characters) because I figured that a series with only one or two characters shouldn't have its own paragraph. Because of this I think all of them have a good chance of making it back in, which include Villager, Game and Watch, Little Mac, Duck Hunt, ROB, Captain Falcon, Olimar, Wii Fit Trainer and Shulk. I see Wii Fit Trainer being the most likely to get cut simly because of the lack of popularity, even if her move set is unique. I could see them adding another character from the Xenoblade Chronicles series, probably one of the blades from the sequel.
Third Party characters
This is a very weird playing field since they could come and go at any point. I feel like Sonic and Bayonetta are safe since Sonic is the only one that's stuck around the whole time and Bayonetta is basically Nintendo's adopted child at this point. I see Mega Man being the one most likely to be cut because although he is a fan favourite, Capcon is a bit awkward with the Switch and that could affect the situation. Ryu and Cloud are kinda in the middle in that nothing is currently going on that will get them cut, but it could still happen.
What new characters could happen?
We already have the Inklings, which was kinda obvious in the first place. The net game series I see them touching on is Arms. Sadly that will probably mean either Spring Man or Ribbon Girl since they are on pretty much all the promotion for the game. I've already mentioned anyone logical I could think of at previous points.
I think that this time, Indie characters will get a chance to become a fighter on the roster. Nintendo really like their collaboration with indie developers and I can see them wanting to show that in Super Smash Bros. Possibilities that I see happening include;
- Shovel Knight
- Super Meat Boy
- Shantae
- Something Undertale (probably Sans...)
- Madeline (from Celeste but I don't know what she could do)
