Why 'The Waking Dead' And 'Fear' Might Completely Merge

With Lennie James set to leave The Walking Dead in favor of a role as Morgan Jones on Fear the Walking Dead, the possibility of the two shows merging into one suddenly exists.

Though it was announced on Sunday that James would be the crossover character, jumping from one series to the other, the details of how the story will unfold were kept completely under wraps. James' and other cast member comments seem to point towards Morgan Jones returning to The Walking Dead in Season 8, with Episode 8x16 possibly being his last.

There are a number of ways for Morgan to appear of Fear the Walking Dead. The character was missing in action for several season on The Walking Dead. He debuted in the show's first episode and disappeared until Season 3, where he would ultimately disappear again until Season 5. With most of the blanks filled in and the character never appearing to have traveled as far west a Texas (Fear the Walking Dead's Season 4 filming location), the idea of a time jump bringing Morgan to the path of Madison, Alicia, and Nick Clark gains probability.

Assuming Fear the Walking Dead sees a time jump to start its fourth season for the aforementioned reasons, Morgan Jones would need one incredibly heavy reason to never return to Alexandria, Virginia. He is no stranger to taking time away from the group -- it's what he is doing again right now in The Walking Dead Season 8 -- but he has always returned.

Meeting a family lead by Kim Dickens' Madison Clark, a character with the same desire to survive and protect her kids as Rick Grimes, Morgan would be doing them an injustice by not mentioning the Alexandria community. If Alexandria is to win the war against Negan and Rick's flash-forward visions become a reality, the Safe-Zone should be serving as a beacon of civilization among the apocalyptic landscape.

Though the official crossover announcement at New York Comic Con promised one character crossing over from one show to the other, no one can rule out Morgan's purpose as being the missing link between the two shows. Should he lead the Clark family, Victor Strand, Daniel Salazar, and anyone else who survives long enough to the east coast, Fear the Walking Dead and The Walking Dead may merge into one joint apocalyptic journey.

Fear the Walking Dead will return for its fourth season in 2018. The Walking Dead airs Sundays at 9 pm ET on AMC. For complete coverage and insider info all season long, follow @BrandonDavisBD on Twitter.