It's a great time to be a Mario Kart fan. Despite Mario Kart 8 initially releasing for the Wii U in 2014, Nintendo has kept the game alive all the way into their latest console generation. Recently, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe has received DLC expansions adding in new courses for players to race on, as well as new playable characters like Birdo.
Although there are many to choose from in the Mario universe, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe has already established racers from other Nintendo franchises. Link, Villager, Isabelle, Inkling Boy, and Inkling Girl have already been included in the title from launch. If Nintendo plans to add any other non-Mario characters to the racing game, these would be the best options.
10 Diddy Kong
Diddy Kong is a frequent character in the Mario spin-off world, having previously been a racer in Mario Kart: Double Dash and Mario Kart Wii. However, it's been quite a while since Diddy Kong has made an appearance in the franchise. Nevertheless, the character has had a long history with racing thanks to the Donkey Kong franchise's own racing titles.
After all this time, it does seem quite surprising that such an iconic character like Diddy Kong has yet to be added to Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. He would make a great addition to the roster alongside Donkey Kong, with both of them representing one of Nintendo's most iconic Mario spin-off franchises: Donkey Kong Country.
9 Zelda
Link and Mario have joined forces many times thanks to the Super Smash Bros. Franchise, but Mario Kart 8 was the first time the character appeared in the racing series. The character has two costumes: one from Skyward Sword and one from Breath of the Wild. However, it'd be nice to get another iconic The Legend of Zelda character in the Mario Kart series.
Zelda makes for the perfect option, especially given the upcoming release of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. Peach makes a great argument for how a princess could be found racing, but the character's appearances in Breath of the Wild highlight what an adventurer Zelda really is, which would make her primed for a racing competition.
8 Kirby
Kirby is one of the few Nintendo characters who's no stranger to racing. The sport has appeared numerous times throughout the franchise, such as the Kirby Super Star minigame Gourmet Race, or the GameCube spin-off title Kirby Air Ride. Suffice it to say, but being added to Mario Kart 8 Deluxe would be a natural progression for Kirby.
The addition of Kirby into Mario Kart would also make a great excuse to add karts based on the franchise's rides, such as the Warp Star or the Dragoon. A stage based on the Kirby franchise, like Gourmet Race, would also make for a great course to be added via DLC, albeit it may draw comparisons to levels like Sweet Sweet Canyon.
7 Pikachu
Pokemon is one of Nintendo's most iconic franchises, although The Pokemon Company is pretty particular about where its characters show up outside mainline games and spin-offs. With that in mind, an iconic Pokemon like Pikachu being added to Mario Kart would make Nintendo history, as well as satisfy many longtime fans of the franchise.
Some fans may be put-off by the idea of Pikachu driving, but it'd make about as much sense as a Koopa or King Boo racing. Plus, Pikachu being an Electric-type Pokemon may make the perfect excuse for the character to race at lightning speeds. Perhaps the DLC could also include a Pokemon-themed course like Saffron City, or Paldea from Scarlet & Violet.
6 Fox McCloud
Fox has been a mainstay of the Super Smash Bros. Series since its very first entry, just like Mario and his friends. The character can often be found occupying his iconic Arwing, although other games in the series find the character racing in a giant tank known as the Landmaster. Perhaps Fox and the Landmaster would be great additions to Mario Kart.
Star Fox is an often underrated Nintendo franchise nowadays, with its most recent entry Star Fox Zero for Wii U being critically panned. Get to play as Fox, with maybe Falco or Wolf as alternate skins, in a Mario Kart game would be much needed redemption for Star Fox fans. Albeit, the Landmaster may not make for an incredibly fast kart.
5 Captain Falcon
Captain Falcon is one of Nintendo's most iconic characters, and it's all thanks to Super Smash Bros. The character's origin series, F-Zero, hasn't even had a new title since the early 2000s. However, the series is nonetheless represented in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, with the Blue Falcon available as a kart and two F-Zero stages: Mute City and Big Blue.
At this point, it seems almost insulting that F-Zero has representation in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, but not Captain Falcon himself. The character is more than worthy of a spot, especially since Nintendo seems to have no plans to revive his racing series thanks to the success of Mario Kart as the company's signature racing franchise.
4 Pit
The Kid Icarus franchise was far from Nintendo's most popular until Sakurai's 3DS title Kid Icarus: Uprising. Along with breathing new life into the series, Kid Icarus: Uprising contains many ideas for potential Kid Icarus-inspired karts, should the series protagonist Pit ever be added to the Mario Kart franchise as a playable racer.
In the 3DS game alone, there are vehicles like the Exotank, Cherubot, and Aether Ring that are used repeatedly throughout the game. There's also the Lightning Chariot, which even appears in Super Smash Bros Ultimate as Pit's Final Smash. Given that Pit is incapable of flying without Palutena's help, racing against Mario and his friends seems like a natural fit.
3 Samus
In the Metroid series, Samus Aran rides one of the most iconic vehicles in Nintendo's history: the Gunship. The Gunship would make an obvious choice for a potential kart in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, with Samus being a natural fit as its signature rider. The character could even have costume changes with her Power Suit and Zero Suit as different options.
Metroid fans would certainly appreciate the attention, given the increasing delays of Metroid Prime 4, which was first confirmed all the way back in 2017. The series has seen recent releases, such as the recently-released Metroid Dread on the Switch. It would also be great to add more female characters to the series, with Samus being one of Nintendo's best.
2 Mona
Although Wario appears in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, there isn't any representation of the WarioWare series in the series. The microgame-based Mario spin-off features many original characters who would make great Mario Kart racers. Some of them include 9-Volt, Ashley, Orbulon, and Dr. Crygor, but one stands out above the rest.
Mona has been one of the longest-running characters in the franchise, wearing many hats throughout the WarioWare games as a pizza delivery girl, bassist, and cheerleader. Often, the character is seen riding her iconic scooter recklessly, which makes her a perfect fit for the Mario Kart franchise, which is already filled with lots of reckless driving.
1 Excitebiker
Excitebike is an NES classic, originally released in 1984 for the Famicom before it was ported to the west a year later. As one of Nintendo's most recognizable games, it has a surprising lack of inclusion in Super Smash Bros. Aside from an Assist Trophy in Super Smash Bros Brawl. However, the franchise has been more welcomed by Mario Kart.
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe includes a course based on Excitebike, but the lack of a playable character from the series has been noticed by fans. Perhaps, adding the Excitebiker to Mario Kart as a DLC character would be a much-deserved tribute to one of Nintendo's most iconic retro games, which was developed based on Mario's running from Super Mario Bros.