User blog comment:Arbington/ME3 Theories/@comment-899316-20100628080529

I know, right? Bioware has done so well with the existing characters that replacing them seems almost blasphemous, yet the possibility of new characters is infinitely intriguing. Also, due to Bronzey's comment, I have an idea. If I'm right, and for the record I may not be, there are 10 squadmates in ME2 counting DLC characters. Surviving ME1 characters can total 5. If everyone survived both games, you have 15 characters. I assume that there will be new characters to supplement the squad, as many may have died. To come to a nice, even reasonable total in ME3, I would assume that perhaps 5 new characters would be added. That way, people with almost no surviving teammates would have a minimum of 9, and the maximum is 20, which isn't all too terribly outrageous a number. Of course, this is all assuming that all previous squadmates will be returning to the team, which frankly, is a 50/50 chance at best. I just hope that's what happens. Bioware likely has something entirely different in store.