Last week, Scott Gimple, the overseer of the entire The Walking Dead franchise, teased some “massive and monumental” news on the horizon. Much of the fandom thought that an update on the “Rick Grimes” movies was coming… but that was not the case. Instead, we learned that Fear the Walking Dead has been renewed for an eighth season, with fan-favorite character Madison Clark (Kim Dickens) returning.
Madison Clark was sadly “killed off” from the series in season 4, the same season that infamously killed her son Nick Clark (Frank Dillane), which left Alicia (Alycia Debnam-Carey) as the sole survivor from the Clark. However, ever since Madison’s “death,” fans have always wondered if she would make a comeback. Her final scene saw her save our group, but it led to her being trapped in the stadium surrounded by flames. While that sounds nigh impossible to escape from, we didn’t actually see her die, so a return was always possible.
And during Talking Dead, it was officially confirmed that the spinoff was returning for an eighth season, with Kim Dickens reprising her role. “If there were a Mt. Deadmore, Kim Dickens’ face would be on it,” Gimple said in a statement, per Deadline. “Madison Clark is a foundational character to — heroic, complex, an everyperson who becomes a warrior and then a force of benevolence. Kim Dickens’ raw talent, strength and brilliance will electrify the Walking Dead Universe once more, and we couldn’t be luckier to have her back.”
After Madison’s controversial exit from the series, fans on Twitter made their voices heard with the hashtag #BringMadisonBack campaign. It went pretty viral, and Dickens likes to think the calls of the fandom contributed to her return.
"I just want those fans to know it’s really meant the world to me and I think it probably made a significant impact on my being able to come back. It really just warmed my heart that they had such passion for the show and for the character. I just want to say thank you."
For those of you unconvinced that Madison is here to say, Dickens confirmed her comeback is not short-term — as in, it’s not just a flashback or something. She’s back as a series regular. “She’s alive,” Dickens said. “I’ve had the secret I think probably since this whole year.”
Watch the teaser for Fear the Walking Dead season 11B!
Before we see Madison, however, our characters still have a war to fight in season 7. Just like Rick Vs. Negan in The Walking Dead, Fear‘s version of All-Out-War looks to be between Alicia and Victor Strand (Colman Domingo). In the first teaser trailer, subtitled “It’s Over,” we see how friends become enemies and war is waged:
Fear the Walking Dead returns for the second half of its seventh season on April 17.
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