Throughout the years, many legendary characters have bitten the dust in The Walking Dead franchise. Zombie bites, bats wrapped in barbed wire, bullets, and knives have marked the end of multiple stories on the small screen. Deaths are permanent in the unforgiving world AMC has crafted (even if there is no shortage of fakeouts along the way), but what if we were able to turn back time and spend an episode with a character who has been long gone? Well, thanks to The Walking Dead: Dead City season 3, we will be able to.
San Diego Comic-Con is finally here, and a handful of The Walking Dead announcements have started to roll in. It started with the confirmation that The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon season 4 was pushed back to 2027. But to compensate for the bad news, we now have the official confirmation that The Walking Dead: Dead City will feature an alternate-reality episode where the apocalypse never happened, which will allow for the return of a major character.
Beth Greene will return in an alternate-reality episode of The Walking Dead: Dead City season 3
The cat is out of the bag. Fans suspected it, set pictures seemed to confirm it, and now Maggie herself, Lauren Cohan, has officially confirmed that Beth Greene will be back in The Walking Dead: Dead City season 3.
Beth Green (Emily Kinney) is coming back!!! #deadcity #twd #sdcc #thewalkingdead pic.twitter.com/GOGGOp4b8v
— Multiverse Of Color @ #SDCC 2026 (@MultiverseColor) July 24, 2026
Maggie's half-sister died long ago in the fifth season of the main The Walking Dead show. However, in a universe where the apocalypse never happened, there would've been no reason at all for her to be inadvertently shot in the head, which explains her long-awaited comeback.
It will also be interesting to see whether other characters will be able to return during this alternate-reality episode. Since someone very close to Maggie will jump right back into action, perhaps we could see a similar scenario with Negan too. This could open the doors for Lucille Smith to appear on the small screen one last time.
The alternate reality episode will also serve to give audiences insight into what Maggie and Negan's relationship would've been like had the apocalypse never happened... and the latter didn't kill the former's husband. We know these two beloved characters had a very complicated history, quickly switching from being enemies to allies and back to enemies again. So, could a similar scenario also happen in a world where the dead don't rise from beneath the ground?
During an interview with RadioTimes, The Walking Dead: Dead City showrunner Seth Hoffman gave us a better tease of what to expect from the alternate reality episode:
"The value from a series-wide perspective is that you get to see who Maggie and Negan would have been if the apocalypse didn't happen. Despite the terrible trauma, the awful things they've done and the awful things that have been done to them, you get to ask the question, 'Are these people better off having gone through the zombie apocalypse than they would have been if they hadn't gone through it?'"
During the Walking Dead panel at SDCC, Lauren Cohan revealed that the alternate reality episode is her favorite ever of the franchise as a whole, which sets the bar very high. However, it's easy to see why that is the case, as it will feature the return of Beth Greene and insight into what Maggie's relationship with Negan could've been like in a normal world.
On the bright side, The Walking Dead: Dead City season 3 is just around the corner. Early reactions to the new season of the spin-off show have been absolutely stellar, and now we have even more reasons to look forward to its release. With a bit of luck, Maggie and Negan's upcoming adventure lives up to expectations.
The premiere episode of The Walking Dead: Dead City season 3 will be released on Sunday, Jul. 26, 2026.
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