Characters Who Can Unexpectedly Return On The Walking Dead

Not everybody on The Walking Dead dies to exit the show. In fact, several faces have been sent into ambiguous apocalyptic fates in which the question of “Are they alive or dead?” will remain for as long as the show goes on and beyond.

In some cases, such as Morgan Jones and the Governor, disappearing from the AMC series does not mean the character will be gone for good and, right now, several characters have a wide open door to return to the series.

On the following slides, we explore the possibilities of some characters returning to the AMC series after weeks, months, or years of absence. Some of the characters would be welcome additions to Rick’s group while others could pose a threat. Spoilers for the seven completed seasons of The Walking Dead follow!

Heath

Heath was never a huge factor on the AMC series. He was introduced shortly after the group arrived in Alexandria and played a friendly, supporting role to the events taking place there.

Late in Season 6, Heath took off on a supply run with Tara after the group had a run-in with the Saviors and eliminated one of their compounds. Late in Season 7’s first half, Heath returned in an episode which revealed the events of their supply run. After being cornered by zombies on bridge, Heath would run for his life, never to be seen again.

The moment was surprisingly forgettable for fans of The Walking Dead but Heath’s fate remains a mystery. While the actor, Corey Hawkins, went on to take the lead role in the new 24 series on Fox, Heath’s return in Season 8 or beyond remains a possibility. After all, we are left wondering what the “PPP” on the keycard Tara found stands for. 

Morales

Morales has long been a fan-favorite for an epic return on The Walking Dead. He was last seen in the show’s first season, electing to head for Birmingham, Alabama rather than Atlanta to explore the CDC. As fans and characters have seen as the show goes on, the entire country is plagued with the zombie virus and Morales’ family likely did not find good news if they survived long enough to see Birmingham.

The actor who played Morales on the first season of the AMC zombie drama took to Twitter to campaign for a return to the apocalypse. Tweeting side by side photos, one with Jeffrey Dean Morgan’s portrayal of Negan holding his precious and iconic Lucille bat, the other featuring himself in character bashing a zombies brains with a baseball bat.

The caption reads, “the only thing that can stop a bad guy with a bat, is a good guy with a bat.” Pareja went on to tag The Walking Dead showrunner Scott Gimple. 

Morales likely won’t ever return on The Walking Dead. Robert Kirkman has previously expressed his desire to leave some characters’ fates as open ended mysteries.

If the show could come up with a plausible explanation for the character to end up in Virginia, crossing paths with Rick Grimes and company once again near Alexandria, fans would be shocked to see the familiar face. The conversations which would ensue as Morales learns the fate of characters he knew such as Andrea, Merle, Glenn, Jacqui, and Dale would be a welcome trip down memory lane. 

Sherry

Dwight’s wife disappearing was one of Season 7’s more surprising turns. The character has played a major role in The Walking Dead comics, especially lately, so her casting out does not fit the grand scheme of adapting the source material to television. 

Sherry’s disappearance comes with actress Christine Evangelista’s casting on The Arrangement. Typically, cast members on The Walking Dead do not recur on other shows but Evangelista may very well be taking a leave of absence as Sherry’s husband Dwight finds the motivation to betray Negan and the Saviors in favor of Rick and Alexandria. 

Sherry can easily be sidelined for the war between Rick and Negan (it might actually enhance her chances of survival) only to return and lead the Saviors in a strike against those who conquer their group further down the line. Given the slight differences in Sherry’s characteristics, often appearing more humane than her comic book counterpart, there is a chance the AMC series has elected to alter her role for television.

The Wolves

The Wolves seem to have come and gone on The Walking Dead all too easily. 

Clearly, their leader is dead and most of the crew was killed off when the attempted to raid Alexandria, but a few of these savages escaped. Several of those who ran from the Safe-Zone when Morgan granted them a chance to live encountered Rick Grimes, where they will ultimately gunned down, anyway.

Given how organized and accomplished this group appeared to be, it seems plausible that they had greater numbers than those who raided Alexandria only to be defeated. How were they so easily taken down by this community when they managed to take out several others without going extinct or even losing numbers and getting injured?

A return of the Wolves would be like Morgan said to Rick in the Season 6 finale: a story coming full circle. Could they help Rick fight Negan? Probably not…but it would be an interesting twist.

Duane

Morgan’s son Duane might be the LOST‘s Walt equivalent on The Walking Dead: a young boy cast out of the show as the actor grows up too quickly, only to return for important scenes in the show’s future.

Duane became a factor once more in Episode 7×13 when Morgan retracted to his terrifyingly insane state of mind following the death of Benjamin. It was similar to his appearance in Season 3 when Rick and Michonne discovered him hiding out in a self-made sanctuary, designed to keep enemies and the dead away.

In his shattered mentality, Morgan told Rick that Duane was killed by his reanimated wife as a result of Morgan’s inability to put her down. In the world of comic book movies and TV shows, especially The Walking Dead, you should never consider somebody dead without seeing a body and a zombie. Duane’s return is one of the most unlikely of the series but is not impossible!