'Walking Dead' Star Lauren Cohan Confirms Return With Surprise Comic Con Appearance

When it comes to “The Walking Dead ,” fans should probably be used to characters coming back, at least in zombie form. But the return of one particular long lost character came as a surprise at New York Comic Con on Saturday.

At the end of the “Walking Dead” panel at Madison Square Garden, a fan dressed as Negan wearing a Jason Voorhees mask was called on stage to take a photo with the cast. It seemed kind of bizarre, until the fan removed the mask to reveal it was Lauren Cohan, who then announced that she is returning to the show as Maggie Rhee.

Maggie’s future on “The Walking Dead” has been up in the air since Season 9 when she was quietly shipped off to another community as the real-life Cohan was moving on to star in ABC’s “Whiskey Cavalier.”

Even when talking about leaving in Season 9, Cohan had left open the possibility of a return. The actress told Entertainment Weekly  she had had discussions with showrunner Angela Kang and chief content officer Scott Gimple about the character’s future.

The cancellation of “Whiskey Cavalier ” in May seemingly left open a return for Maggie, and Kang said in July that the show was “working on ” bringing her back. In a press release issued after the panel on Saturday, AMC expanded on Cohan’s return, saying she’ll be a regular in Season 11. 

The news is likely welcome among fans, considering the show has been bleeding main characters recently. Chandler Riggs left in Season 8 after the death of Carl, Andrew Lincoln’s Rick Grimes departed in Season 9 via a mysterious helicopter and Danai Gurira , who plays Michonne, will be stepping away in the upcoming Season 10. 

Besides Maggie, the “Walking Dead” universe is also introducing a ton of additional characters in a new show. Following the panel, AMC released a trailer for an upcoming “Walking Dead” spinoff, which is coming in 2020.