Usually, whenever we enter a new Grand Theft Auto game, we get a new protagonist, or protagonists, if you look at Grand Theft Auto V as the most recent example. However, that doesn't mean old characters can't return.
Michael De Santa is one of the protagonists in Grand Theft Auto V, and his actor Ned Luke has taken to Twitter to tease a potential return for Michael. When asked if he'd be coming back as the retired gangster, Luke only said the following:
"It's a mystery." Now, this doesn't confirm or deny anything, but it certainly is teasing fans by keeping the question of his return burning in their minds. Michael would be a harder character to bring back, as in one of the endings for Grand Theft Auto V, he can be killed by Franklin. The same goes for Trevor.
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But, considering a lot of people took the Deathwish ending, which keeps everyone alive, it's not impossible to picture the return of one if not all of our Grand Theft Auto V protagonists. Most likely, they'll just have a cameo appearance, but that would be more than enough to please some fans. Let's just hope they don't meet the same end as Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost and the Damned's Johnny Klebitz.