Cyrax - Alive, presumably member of the Special Forces.
No offense but I hope Cyrax doesn't follow through with his old timeline.
Now here my list of alive and dead characters. And these are only my speculation of them returning in some fashion.
From memory:
Without a doubt: Raiden, Johnny Cage, and Sonya Blade survived.
Its very possible for Raiden to appear in some form or another. I'd be a little surprised if he didn't.
As for Johnny Cage and Sonya, they definitley have to appear somehow with their daughter confirmed. Whether they're playable or just mentioned or they make a cameo in the story. I'd like to see them just pass the torch to Cassie and have them as cameos. Its next generation.
Other survivors:
Kratos - Alive and confirmed for MKX.... JK
Baraka - Alive but I could see him not making the cut for a few reasons. He's a goon and a new character could fill his spot. but who knows.
Cyrax - Alive, he's got to appear somehow because the Lin Kuei holds some importance to the story I'm sure.
Ermac - Alive and could very easily return being a fan favorite and making his 4th true appearance. (Unless you count UMK3-T)
Kano - Alive as far as we know. Left frozen but we don't know if one of those soldiers pushed him over and shattered him lol. Being one of the original seven I'd hope he'd return with one last fight in his aged bones.
Mileena - Alive, she could easily appear because she seems as popular as Scorpion at this point in the series.
Reptile - Alive, very possible to return in my opinion, being on of the original three 'ninja' and a long time fan favorite.
Scorpion - Alive and confirmed.
Sektor - Alive with the same potential as Cyrax I assume.
Sheeva - Alive but could see not appearing for unpopularity. Possible cameo?
Quan Chi - Alive and without a doubt will appear in some form. I'd be shocked if he didn't make the cut. God, imagine his new look!
Goro and Kintaro - Alive as far as we know. Last seen frozen with Kano. I doubt they'll be as sub bosses and very unlikely as playables but maybe cameos?
Dead but never to stay dead of course:
Motaro - Dead, killed by Raiden. Mostly won't return.
Jade - Dead killed by Sindel. and I could easily see someone take her spot.
Jax - Dead killed by Sindel. and I could see someone taking his spot.
Kabal - Dead, killed by Sindel. my personal favorite but I won't get my hopes up for his return.
Kitana - Dead, killed by her own mother, tough love. she's hugely popular but I could see her not making the cut, saving room for the roster
Kung Lao - Dead, killed by Shao Kahn and have a funny feeling he won't return.
Liu Kang - Dead, Raiden killed him. I honestly don't know what kill happen with this. Raiden wtf?
Nightwolf - Dead, sacrificed himself. very unlikely to return in my opinion.
Noob Saibot (Bi-Han) - Dead? Sucked into soulnado by Cyber Kuai Liang I believe or was it Nightwolf? We don't know for sure and there's a lot of speculation on this. I'm going to assume Noob Saibot to be left out of this one possibly. But not entirely sure what will happen with Bi-Han if he is cleansed. Really unsure here.
Shang Tsung - Dead, sould absorbed by Shao Kahn I assume. I could see this to be his end for the next generation. Atleast for a while.
Sindel - Dead, Killed by Nightwolf's noble sacrifice. I'd say its unlikely for her to return.
Smoke - Dead. Killed bu Sindel. Its possible for him to return. He's had little official appearances and there seems to be a lot of potential for his progression.
Stryker - Dead. Killed by Sindel. Its very safe to say he'll stay dead in MKX.
Sub-Zero (Kuai Liang) - Dead and cyberized. Killed by Sindel. Its confirmed a Sub-Zero is in as we all know just the identity is left up to speculation for now.