‘Fear the Walking Dead’: First Look at Return of Daniel Salazar in Season 5

Fear the Walking Dead Season Five sees the return of the long-missing Daniel Salazar (Rubén Blades), who re-enters the Walking Dead Universe in the first footage from the upcoming season released Sunday. “You still talk too much, Victor,” Salazar says as he holds Victor Strand (Colman Domingo) at gunpoint.

In June, viewers got a close-up look at the prized cache of tapes fiercely protected by video journalist Althea (Maggie Grace), revealing a tape marked “D.S.”

Now that Al and her group have settled at an old denim factory and taken up the charitable mission established by trucker Polar Bear (Stephen Henderson), Season Five will see Morgan (Lennie James) and the others venturing out to help the needy and reconnect with the survivors encountered in Al’s tapes — which could be what brings familiar faces Alicia (Alycia Debnam-Carey) and Strand back into the path of old ally Daniel.

“We’ll definitely say Al’s tapes are a big part of who she is and was, and we’ll probably be seeing more of them in the future,” showrunner Andrew Chambliss said on Talking Dead.

Goldberg confirmed Al’s tapes will be used “as a guide to find those people,” which comes after Chambliss enticed fans in May when he confirmed with TV Line Daniel was “alive and out there.” Blades later confirmed in December he had filmed for Season Five in an interview with Dia a Dia.

Daniel was last seen in the Season Three finale, where he was swallowed up by the massive Gonzalez Dam explosion set off by Nick Clark (Frank Dillane). A former CIA and Salvadoran Junta secret agent, Daniel has proved hard to kill: he previously resurfaced after his first apparent death back in Season Two when the Abigail Estate was consumed by flames.

His last known location was Tijuana, Baja California — the site of the Gonzalez Dam — but following a sizable time jump that skipped past more than a year in Season Four, the missing Daniel has now somehow come across old “frenemy” Strand somewhere in Texas.

“We are filming in Austin [Texas] again for Season Five,” showrunner Ian Goldberg previously told ComicBook.com.

“But what we can say is we, without giving away sort of where we’re going story-wise, we will be exploring different parts of the greater Austin area, and possibly the greater Texas area, as part of the story we’re telling. So we’re always trying to avoid repetition, and that will continue, yeah, as these characters take the next evolution in their journey.”

Fear the Walking Dead Season Five premieres Sunday, June 2 on AMC.

—–

Have you subscribed to ComicBook Nation, the official Podcast of ComicBook.com yet? Check it out by clicking here or listen below.

In this latest episode, we talk about Avengers: Endgame run time, Zack Snyder divulging a bunch of plans he had for the DCEU and more! Make sure to subscribe now and never miss an episode!