Jon Bernthal to Appear in ‘Walking Dead’ Season 9

By Joe Otterson

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – “The Walking Dead” is bringing back a familiar face for Season 9.

Jon Bernthal, who starred as Shane in the AMC show’s first two seasons, is going to appear in an episode of the show’s next season, Variety has confirmed with sources.

The exact nature of Bernthal’s appearance in the season is unknown, but given the fact that his character was killed off in the Season 2 finale not once but twice (first by Rick, then by Carl after Shane turned into a walker), chances are it will be in a flashback. Shane also appeared in Season 3 as a ghostly apparition haunting Rick.

Bernthal has stayed plenty busy since he departed “.” The actor has appeared in numerous critically-acclaimed films like “Baby Driver,” “Fury,” “The Wolf of Wall Street,” and “Sicario.” He also currently stars in the Marvel-Netflix series “The Punisher,” a role he originated in Season 2 of “Daredevil.”

AMC declined to comment.

News of Bernthal’s return comes just after the news that Andrew Lincoln, who has played Rick Grimes throughout the series, is reportedly set to exit the show after the ninth season and will appear in just a handful of episodes. It is said that Norman Reedus is negotiating a large pay raise as he moves up to number one on the show’s call sheet, while Lauren Cohan is also set to appear in just a few episodes in Season 9 due to her lead role in the upcoming ABC drama series “Whiskey Cavalier.”

TV Line first reported Bernthal’s return.