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With the success of Modern Warfare 2, it is likely that a third game will begin production in the near future. While it is hard to tell what the campaign will look like, it is likely it will find a few more familiar faces to bring back to the series. There are still some great options to pick from when it comes to Modern Warfare 3.

5 Captain MacMillan

The original Modern Warfare included the popular level All Ghillied Up, a flashback section that saw a younger Captain Price infiltrating the Chernobyl Exclusion zone on a mission to assassinate arms dealer Imran Zakhaev. While Price spends a lot of the game acting as a mentor to Soap, this flashback allows players to meet his mentor, Captain MacMillan. Despite being a small part of the series, only appearing in the two flashback levels and a voice-only cameo in Modern Warfare 3, MacMillan proved to be very popular with fans. He was also referenced in 2018’s Modern Warfare when Price talks about a similar operation.

MacMillan would not have to be a big part of the series, but a lot of fans would probably get excited to see him make a return in some form, even if it was just a cameo where Price goes to him for a favor. The developers would need to make sure he has the heavy Scottish accent that fans of the original games enjoyed so much.

4 Vladimir Makarov

The original Modern Warfare ended with the player apparently winning after killing primary antagonist Imran Zakhaev. That assumption was disproven in the sequel, when Vladimir Makarov emerged to take his place, becoming a major antagonist through Modern Warfare 2 and 3. He became notorious for his ruthlessness, and especially for being at the center of the infamous “No Russian” level in Modern Warfare 2, where he indiscriminately fires at civilians in a Russian airport. After Zakhaev was brought back for the spec ops missions in 2018’s Modern Warfare and Black Ops Cold War, Makarov’s return seemed logical.

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His background as an ultranationalist does provide an opportunity to tie into the events of Modern Warfare. It would not be hard to imagine Makarov having ties to General Barkov, or perhaps exploiting the latter’s death for his own agenda.

Makarov’s return was set up at the end of Modern Warfare 2, with a final scene showing the lead-up to a plane hijacking in an obvious reference to “No Russian.” However, it is worth noting that Modern Warfare also seemed to set up Khaled-Al Asad as the antagonist for its sequel, which did not end up happening. Given this pattern, it is possible that Makarov may not actually appear in Modern Warfare 3 but instead is being set up for use in a future game.

3 Gary “Roach” Sanderson

Roach was one of the main playable characters in the campaign of the original Modern Warfare 2, where he was a member of Task Force 141 frequently working alongside the popular characters Ghost and Soap. Both were already brought back in the rebooted Modern Warfare 2 so having another Task Force 141 member make an appearance would seem logical.

He also proved to be quite popular with fans despite lacking a voice or even a definitive face—his appearances in Modern Warfare 2 were all experienced in the first person and official art depicts him wearing a mask. Of course, this could work to the developers’ advantage, as it gives them a lot of creative flexibility for his rebooted characterization.

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There was speculation about Roach possibly making a return in the rebooted Modern Warfare 2 after his name was apparently mentioned in one of the teasers. However, this turned out to be a misunderstanding. Price actually said “rog’” (short for “roger” as an affirmative response), but was misheard by some audiences because of his English accent. Of course, this does not rule out the possibility of Roach’s big comeback happening in the next installment.

2 Lt. Vasquez

The original Modern Warfare had a first act that saw the player alternate between two parallel storylines: one followed Captain Price’s SAS unit and another focused on a division of U.S. marines. This section saw the player cast as Sergeant Paul Jackson, a marine under the command of Lt. Vazquez on an operation to capture terrorist and political usurper Khaled Al-Asad. Vazquez took charge of most of the operation, and players learned to recognize his distinct voice. He was depicted as a battle-hardened veteran dedicated to the marines’ ideals, especially the creed of “No one gets left behind.”

Although he has not made an appearance, the rebooted Modern Warfare has depicted U.S. marines and the 2018 game included a cameo by Sergeant Griggs, a marine who works with Jackson in the first act and later helps the SAS against Zakhaev. Although the focus is now more on Task Force 141, many fans would be excited to see Vazquez make a comeback in some form, even if it was just for a single level.

1 Yuri

A playable character through Modern Warfare 3, Yuri had an interesting trajectory that could be more clearly developed in the rebooted series. He was eventually revealed to be a former ultranationalist- as in, one of those nameless enemies that the player’s been gunning down throughout the previous games. The big reveal of Yuri’s past added an interesting dimension to Modern Warfare 3’s campaign since it provided a shocking reminder that the enemy forces are actually human beings.

This angle would fit with the tone of the rebooted Modern Warfare, which has tried to place a lot more emphasis on the moral uncertainty that inevitably comes with war. The idea of being reminded that the players’ enemies are human is something that could be explored in a lot more detail with Yuri’s presence. The fact that Modern Warfare 2 also teased Makarov coming back also provides an obvious way for Yuri to enter the next game’s story, maybe even becoming part of Task Force 141.

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