Kim Dickens’ Madison Clark has a big role in Fear the Walking Dead season 7 says a showrunner. Main character Madison exited the Walking Dead spinoff in season 4 when she seemed to die in a stadium full of burning zombies. But somehow the character survived and will return in season 7.

A recent Fear the Walking Dead season 7B trailer indeed confirmed that the long-lost Madison is by some kind of miracle still among the living. But the clip actually left fans with more questions than answers, as it teased Madison being in the custody of a mystery group and perhaps subject to brainwashing. Theories immediately began emerging as to the nature of Madison’s apparent predicament, including one tying the show’s PADRE mystery and Madison’s return to the shadowy CRM. The vagueness of this Madison tease also prompted concerns by some fans that the character’s season 7B appearance will be more in the way of a cameo than a full-on return. Indeed The Walking Dead itself pulled a trick just like that when it touted the season 10 return of Lauren Cohan’s Maggie, but only brought her back for a brief appearance in the would-be season finale before fully re-introducing the character in the show’s later run of season 10 bonus episodes.

Related: Fear The Walking Dead Theory Explains What Happened To Rick Grimes

Fans concerned about a Maggie-like bait-and-switch with Madison in Fear the Walking Dead season 7 can apparently put such notions aside however. Speaking to EW, FTWD co-showrunner Andrew Chambliss assured viewers that when Dickens' character comes back, it will be a true return and not just a cameo. He said:

She is going to be returning in a way that will impact the end of season 7 and have huge ripples going into season 8. But that's not to say when we see her this season that it will be in a small role. It'll be in a very big, impactful way.

Kim Dickens as Madison Clark in Fear the Walking Dead

Chambliss’ remarks certainly come as reassuring news to fans who were concerned that Madison would only make a brief appearance in Fear the Walking Dead season 7, pushing her true return back to season 8. Of course Madison might not be coming back to Fear at all were it not for the efforts of Victor Strand actor Colman Domingo. As Domingo revealed recently, he was the one who originally reached out to his friend Dickens on behalf of FTWD’s showrunners to gauge her interest in returning.

Now that Madison is officially back in the fold thanks to Domingo, Fear the Walking Dead has the tall task of explaining exactly how she managed to escape burning to death in a stadium filled with infecteds in the first place. The show then has to clear up exactly what’s going on with her in the present, and whether she is indeed somehow associated with the CRM. There also may be a tearful reunion coming for Madison and her daughter Alicia, who of course is in the middle of her own life-or-death battle after being bitten by an infected and amputating her own arm in the season 7A finale. The good news for fans is that Fear the Walking Dead season 7 will apparently feature enough Madison to clear up at least some of their questions, without their having to wait all the way until season 8.

More: Why Fear The Walking Dead Should End With Season 8

Source: EW