‘Fear The Walking Dead’ Showrunner Confirms Daniel Return

Fear The Walking Dead co-showrunner Andrew Chambliss, the freshly minted boss of season 4 alongside Ian Goldberg, has confirmed Rubén Blades’ Daniel Salazar is alive.

“There is a very good chance that he will appear in the Walking Dead universe,” Chambliss tells TV Line.

“He is alive and out there,” the EP says. How and when the missing Daniel will make his anticipated return has yet to be revealed, as “the details surrounding that are something that we’re still keeping under wraps.”

The grieving father was last seen in episode 3×15, ‘Things Bad Begun,’ which saw Strand (Colman Domingo) shoot Daniel in the chin during a conflict at the Gonzalez Dam, immediately after Daniel told him, “You’re not a killer, you’re a con man.”

Strand would later declare Daniel and Lola (Lisandra Tena) dead before the entire dam was blown to hell by Nick (Frank Dillane) in the season 3 finale, but the former CIA and Salvadoran Junta agent has a propensity for staying alive.

“He’s [made it through] a fire in a wine cellar, then getting shot in the face and then a dam explosion,” Chambliss says. “He’s definitely a survivor!”

The Hollywood Reporter teased earlier this month actor Rubén Blades would appear in Fear‘s fourth season, but not as a series regular.

Last year, after Daniel’s sudden reappearance following his fiery brush with death at the Abigail Estate, Blade praised the fans for their continued support for the hard-to-put-down Daniel, whose up-in-the-air status has been one of the biggest questions plaguing viewers.

“I’m just glad also because of the fans,” Blade told ComicBook.com. “I cannot tell you how grateful I am for the support. I think the fans are one of the main reasons why Salazar is still around, so I wanted to thank them also. But I’m super happy to be here, working with all these wonderful people in AMC.”

Fear most recently killed off Frank Dillane’s longtime survivor Nick, and may have already axed series newcomer Laura-slash-Naomi (Jenna Elfman).

With the series’ timeline in flux — this season explores the ‘before’ timeline and the ‘now’ timeline, the latter conspicuously lacking Madison (Kim Dickens) — it’s unclear if Daniel will resurface in the yellow-tinted past or the grey-tinted present.

Fear The Walking Dead airs Sundays at 9/8c on AMC.