When Lauren Cohan surprised fans at New York Comic Con by taking off her Jason mask and announcing that she’d be returning to The Walking Dead, the official story was that she would be back as a series regular in Season 11 next year. That’s true, but that’s not exactly the whole story. The whole story is that she’s almost definitely going to appear before the end of Season 10, too.
“We may see her at some other point this season,” showrunner Angela Kang told Entertainment Weekly. “But I don’t want to say too much about anything.” That’s about as close to a confirmation as you’ll ever get from someone in the franchise about something coming up on the show.
Cohan left The Walking Dead partway through Season 9 along with Andrew Lincoln, but her exit left open the possibility of return to the AMC drama, which she had been on since Season 2. The show she left to star in, ABC’s Whiskey Cavalier, has been canceled, so she was available to return to The Walking Dead.
It Looks Like The Walking Dead Is Setting Up Michonne’s Endgame
When Cohan’s character, Maggie Rhee, returns to Hilltop from wherever she’s been living in the six-plus years since the Season 9 time jump, she’ll find a very changed situation. Her lieutenants, Jesus (Tom Payne) and Tara (Alanna Masterson), are dead, and Ezekiel (Khary Payton) is in charge at Hilltop. And her nemesis Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) is on a path to redemption, which may not sit well with her. But she’ll have new leadership skills, which will come in handy now that Rick is gone and Michonne (Danai Gurira) will be gone soon.
The Walking Dead airs Sundays at 9/8c on AMC.
Danai Gurira and Lauren Cohan, The Walking Dead