Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-86.46.22.35-20130403153709/@comment-64.33.250.214-20150416094228

Adachi Did It wrote: I disagree, it's not as simple as Kojima saying Ishmael is Solidus deal with it. It has to make sense in the overall story. Just like The Sorrow being Ocelots dad explains why he was nearly taken over by Liquid before changing the arm. Having a 2 year old fully capable and chosen to protect the greatest soldier alive, seems like it'd bring up far more questions to be answered in one game than necessary.

But meh I could be wrong, I just don't see Ishmael being Solidus.

The thing is though, The Sorrow being Ocelot's dad wasn't used to explain anything. We, the players, were left to ASSUME that the two were connected. As far as I can remember, MGS4 doesn't bring up The Sorrow when it discusses why Ocelot was acting as Liquid. Our only indication that the spirit possession wasn't totally retconned is in the fact Ocelot had Liquid's arm removed. That and Liquid's VA wasn't reused (at least in the US).

According to Wikia, Liquid's character designer stated Liquid was brought back due to his popularity, and not because it made sense in the overall story. We don't have a direct confirmation, but it looks like we'll be seeing returning characters as children. If Eli and Mantis Kid are any indication, it seems plausible we'll see Solidus and Solid in some form or another.