Shane from The Walking Dead is set to return to the show

Spoilers for The Walking Dead season two

The Walking Dead is one of TV’s bleakest shows. Robert Kirkman, co-creator of the original comic book, always intended the series to be a zombie movie where the credits never roll – where there is no cure, or saving the world. Just the characters having to survive, and form society as best they can. And if you’ve watched the show, you know that it doesn’t always go well. This means the show – just like the comic - isn’t afraid to bump off a beloved character or two, often completely out of the blue. It’s one of the things that makes the show special, and keeps viewers on their toes. Which is what makes this news so unexpected. Jon Bernthal, who played Rick’s buddy, Shane, is going to return to the show. Police officer Shane Walsh lead the survivors until Rick Grimes reappeared on the scene. The relationship between the two soured, and ended with Rick stabbing him, and then his reanimated corpse being shot by Carl (he faired better than he did in the comics, not making it past the first story arc). Now it has been revealed that Shane will make an appearance in the upcoming season nine. There are no details on how or why it will happen, but if we had to hazard a guess we’d saying it’s probably going to be a flashback. Andrew Lincoln, who plays Rick, is of course leaving the show this season, so it might form part of his farewell. Jon Bernthal has become quite a notable star since leaving The Walking Dead. He has the lead role in The Punisher, and also plays the character on the other Marvel Netflix shows. He also been in big movies like The Wolf of Wall Street, Baby Driver, Sicario and Fury.