ABC's upcoming Roseanne revival will reportedly bring Dan Conner (John Goodman) back from the dead. Ever since news of a possible Roseanne revival broke, fans have had one major question: In what fashion would TV dad Dan Conner participate in the series? The entire immediate Conner family has been confirmed to return in the revival - which ABC officially picked up earlier this week - but that didn't do much to clear up the confusion. After all, just because Goodman is there, doesn't mean Dan's not a ghost or appearing in flashback.

For those who may have forgotten, Roseanne's ninth - and previously final - season saw the Conners win the lottery and engage in ridiculously wacky storylines that most fans at the time found to be out of character for the series that had once taken pride in realistically spotlighting a blue-collar family. Seemingly in response to this, the final episode saw Roseanne take things in the complete opposite direction, revealing that the series itself had been a story the "real" Roseanne Conner was writing, and that Dan had died of the heart attack he suffered at the end of season 8.

Reactions to that creative decision were widely polarized at the time, and continue to be as new viewers discover Roseanne on DVD and streaming. However, it looks like those behind the Roseanne revival have opted to take the route of least resistance, and simply retcon the events of the old series finale. According to TV Line, sources have confirmed that the revival will feature a Dan that's "very much alive," with the plan being to "pretend like it never even happened."

John Goodman and the cast of Roseanne

As for the other character revelations Roseanne revealed in the old finale - such as Becky actually being married to David in "reality," Darlene being married to Mark, and Jackie being a lesbian - TV Line's report also says to expect that those will be ignored, too. This would allow the Connors and their supporting cast to return to the characters fans came to know and love, with none of the baggage attached by the finale reveals.

That said, while it looks safe to say that the season 9 finale will be ignored, it's unclear whether the entirety of the rather oddball season will be retconned as well. Considering the general unpopularity of season 9, writing all the lottery shenanigans out and picking up as if they never happened would seem to be a logical move by both ABC and Roseanne herself, who obviously retains much creative control over the series that bears her name.

Next: Roseanne Revival Promo

Roseanne's 8-episode revival premieres in spring 2018 on ABC.

Source: TV Line