On The Walking Dead, death is a major part of the story. That reality came home hard in the premiere episode of season 7 when beloved characters Glenn and Abraham were both dispatched in gruesome fashion by the villainous Negan and his barbed-wire-wrapped bat Lucille. Those deaths not only got the season off to a shocking start, they also reverberated throughout the subsequent episodes, adding an extra note of sadness to much of the action.

As it turned out, Abraham's dramatic death scene would not be his last appearance in season 7. Fans were given a chance to see the deceased character and his iconic red flat-top one last time when he slid into Sasha's flashbacks during the dramatic season finale. As for Glenn, though he was lovingly eulogized in the episode's final moments, the character himself did not actually appear either as memory, dream, or ghost. With Abraham getting an unexpected chance to take a final bow, it perhaps seemed a little unfair that Glenn didn't also get his curtain-call.

But could Steven Yeun's Glenn at some point get a chance to return a la Abraham? The question was put to Walking Dead showrunner Scott Gimple by TVLine (via Comicbook.com) and though Gimple wouldn't say anything definitive, he did not rule out a future Glenn appearance. With Maggie set to give birth to Glenn's child at some point, Gimple said it's "certainly possible", adding, "I'd be silly to say it isn't."

Glenn and Abraham fighting on The Walking Dead

And when exactly might Maggie's baby be coming? The character wasn't showing at all at the end of season 7, and showrunner Gimple indicated that we still could be a long way from Maggie popping:

“She might not be that close. Things have been moving pretty quickly, but not a lot of time has passed.”

Of course, a lot of time could pass if, as Gimple himself speculated recently, The Walking Dead takes a big jump forward into the future. Gimple noted that the comic book executed such a time jump and since the show attempts to follow the book, it's very possible the show could soon leap forward over several years worth of story (this would, among other things, solve the problem of Chandler Riggs rapidly and somewhat absurdly outgrowing the character of Carl). A long time-jump would of course carry us right over Maggie's pregnancy and into her baby's toddlerhood.

Given the way season 7 ended, with Rick and the group narrowly escaping destruction and Negan gearing up for all-out war, you wouldn't expect a big time-leap to happen at the start of season 8, but perhaps after the war storyline the show could execute a time-chomping leap-frog. And maybe somewhere in the middle of all this kinetic warring and possible time-jumping, the Walking Dead writers will even find room for Glenn to show up in a flashback and give everyone the chance to say goodbye that they didn't get in the jam-packed season 7 finale.

Next: Who Will Be the Villains of The Walking Dead Season 8?

Source: TV Line