‘Fear The Walking Dead’: Ruben Blades Returning as Daniel Salazar

Ruben Blades will reprise his role as Daniel Salazar in the fifth season of Fear the Walking Dead.

Blades did not appear on the AMC zombie show in its fourth season after being last seen in the Season Three finale. His character was given an ambiguous fate when an explosion on the dam at the time sent him possibly plummeting into the river. As it was revealed in Season Four, the core group of survivors including Madison, Alicia, Strand, and Nick had survived the explosion but Daniel’s fate had not yet been addressed.

While speaking to Dia a Dia, Blades revealed his return to the series when asked what projects he has coming up. “On the other hand, the filming of the fifth of the TV series Fear the Walking Dead, with my character, Daniel Salazar,” Blades said (translated from Spanish).

While speaking to Comicbook.com in an exclusive interview around the time of its Mid-Season Four finale, Fear the Walking Dead co-showrunner Andrew Chambliss teased such a return. “All I’ll say is they’re out there in the Walking Dead world, so who knows, we could see them in the future at some point,” Chambliss said.

There is also the possibility of Blades playing his role of Daniel Salazar in a Dead universe movie, which could revive Michael Cudlitz’s Abraham Ford character. Like several other projects, a film with Blades and Cudlitz is in the earliest stages of development.

While Blades is a fan-favorite character and his return will be welcome, many fans of Fear the Walking Dead are left hoping to hear news of Kim Dickens reprising her role of Madison Clark. Blades won’t be the only cast member to return in Season Five for the first time since Season Three but a return for Dickens seems to remain off the table, for now.

The Walking Dead returns for the back half of its ninth season on February 10, 2019 at 9 pm ET. Fear the Walking Dead will return for its fifth season in 2019. For complete coverage and insider info all year long, follow @BrandonDavisBD on Twitter and watch ComicBook.com’s After The Dead each Sunday night following new episodes.