'The Walking Dead' to Bring Three Fan-Favorite Characters Back from the Dead for Season 9

With the upcoming Season 9 of "The Walking Dead" being seen as a reboot of the show, and critics saying it's more akin to earlier series, perhaps it makes sense to bring back some familiar faces.

That's exactly what will be happening, according to new showrunner Angela Kang. She revealed to an eager audience at New York Comic Con that three fan-favorite characters from previous seasons would be making surprise appearances in the upcoming run, despite the fact that all three of them are dead.

According to Kang, fans can look forward to the returns of Shane (Jon Bernthal), Sasha (Sonequa Martin-Green) and Hershel (Scott Wilson). The last one is particularly poignant, as TMZ reports Wilson passed away in real life on Saturday, thus making his upcoming appearances posthumous and tributes to his impact on the show. Wilson had completed filming for the upcoming season before his de

Hershel was the heart and soul of the show, and the father of Maggie (Lauren Cohan), so his connection might make sense as a part of her farewell. Shane, also, has a very close connection to Rick (Andrew Lincoln), who is also preparing for his final episodes on the series.

Sasha's return is perhaps the one that has fans scratching their heads the most, though, as her familial connection, Tyreese, passed away before she did. She started a relationship with Abraham, but his death preceded hers as well. It was Maggie who put down her walker form after she committed suicide, so that could be a connection.

Perhaps it will tie in to Eugene's (Josh McDermitt) badly-needed redemption arc, as he was the one who gave her the pills she used to kill herself and ignite Alexandria into fighting back against Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan). Even Negan himself could be haunted by memories of her, as we've no idea what state he'll be in when the adventure picks up.

And that's assuming the characters will be used as meaningful flashbacks. They could just as easily appear as visions, like Lori did to Rick several times after hear death. Granted, he was kind of falling off the deep end for a bit there, but it was still effective.

All starts to become clear when "The Walking Dead" kicks off its ninth season Sunday at 9 p.m. ET on AMC.

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