ZebraCubes

This first bit will be skimming over what has been confirmed, with a little be of my own connections.

Hybe terminated Danielle's contract on December 29 2025 (December 28 in North America). The statement that Hybe released on this was

"we determined that it would be difficult to continue together as a NewJeans member and an ADOR artist, and today we notified her of the termination of her exclusive contract..."

So, as far as what is currently available, Danielle has been removed from both NewJeans and HYBE as a whole. While this might seem to counter previous claims from various sources that all five members had chosen to return to ADOR, HYBE's statement seems to imply that the return of the members is taking a more longer process to say the least.

This could be the explanation of why Hyein and Haerin's return was made official. The process had been completed for them, while the other 3 members process was ongoing. We know that Hanni also rejoined after a discussion with HYBE, and Minji's return is up in the air as of now.

HYBE's statement also included this.

"we plan to pursue legal accountability for one member of Danielle’s family and former CEO Min Hee Jin, who bear significant responsibility for precipitating this dispute and for NewJeans’ departure and delayed return..."

This basiclly confirms that HYBE will be taking action against Min Hee Jin. No matter how you see MHJ as, she did play a huge part in the situation with NewJeans. However, we are unsure as of now of which of Danielle's family members is being referred to. I'm going to assume that this is as a result of something that occured behind the scenes. With all that being said, I will now be discussing how I see this, my own theories on what might come etc.

It sucks...

I know fellow bunnies, it sucks. Whether you were stanning since debut, or just recently found out about NewJeans, whether your bias is Danielle or not. Danielle being part of it is what helped be NewJeans. It is truly disappointing that NewJeans will comeback without Danielle. Whatever new music that NewJeans releases after this, will obviously gain traction. This is because of it being new NewJeans music, and also because people would want to see how the group would function without Danielle. The remaining members would have no choice but to carry on, but it could just make things more difficult since they have to treat as if none of this ever happened.

So, what could possibly happen with the comeback?

It was confirmed that new music for NewJeans was being worked on. This poses the question, was it with all of the members in mind?

Minji's return is still up in the air, and whether she returns or not would still have NewJeans down members. Several adjustments would have to be made to any projects that are supposedly being worked on, or said projects would just have to be shelved.

I personally do not think that someone else will come in and take Danielle's place. It would most likely cause even more controversy, and be unpleasant experience for said new member joining in and walking thought settled dust.

In the case that Minji does not return, it just wouldn't be worth to continue using the NewJeans brand. The NewJeans brand proved that it could stand for a while, as Ditto and Super Shy were still breaking listening records. However, it would be much harder to carry it on with 3 members left. This opens the door for possibilities for HYBE to use Hyein, Haerin, and Hanni. In the case that HYBE still has them carry on with the NewJeans brand, a major rebrand would have to be done to please old fans and bring in new. But at that point, a new fan of 3 member NewJeans will discover what came before and question what happened. Another interesting case of this would be that they are added in as members of a new girl group and re-debut under that new group.