Maggie’s fate on The Walking Dead is still a big question

The fate of Maggie, Lauren Cohan’s character on The Walking Dead, is ambiguous for now. But we haven’t lost hope yet.

The Walking Dead has forced us to deal with dozens of loses through the years. From Beth to Glenn to Carl, we’re still not over a lot of our favorite characters’ death, and we’re continuously preparing for any and every character’s future demise on the series.

We still haven’t accepted that we have to say goodbye to Michonne (she’ll appear in a limited capacity for season 10) because we’re barely getting over a walker-filled world without Maggie. Whether the actress’ hiatus on the show is just that — a hiatus — or a permanent exit is up in the air. But we have hope Cohan will return with baby Hershel at some point.

Cohan’s upcoming projects could hurt chances of a Walking Dead return

Lauren Cohan’s primary reason for leaving The Walking Dead is so she can focus on her new series on ABC, Whiskey Cavalier. Judging by the reviews for Whiskey Cavalier and this epic exploding tampon commercial, Cohan’s upcoming series is going to fill a void in our television-viewing schedule that we didn’t even know existed.

And yes, while we do hope the show is successful because Cohan is an incredible actress, we hope it doesn’t result in her never returning to the world of The Walking Dead. Realistically, working on two or more shows is possible, but it’s also immensely stressful. There are theoretical scheduling scenarios that could extend Maggie’s hiatus in the series, making her cameos more sporadic, or even lead to her death.

Besides Cohan’s increasingly busy schedule, the actress could opt out of returning to a future Walking Dead season due to contract negotiations. Early rumors on Cohan’s exit suggested she was leaving the show over a salary dispute. Cohan cleared up the issue while on Andy Cohen’s Radio Andy, stating the following:

"In a time of parity in the industry and in my show, it wasn’t actually that I was asking for [more money]. It’s that my contract finished. So that’s a pretty standard renegotiation. It’s also sort of time for me to explore comedy and happier fare, so the good news which is good for me and I hope good news for fans is that my Walking Dead story is open. It’s not finished."

Cohan did renew her Walking Deas contract, but only to appear for six episodes in season 9, which allowed her to move onto other projects like Whiskey Cavalier. As of now, we’re hopeful that contract negotiations will work out for Cohan so we see her in season 10, even if it is for a few episodes.

Comic storyline offers hope for Maggie’s future

Last November, Cohan told Entertainment Weekly that she felt good saying “let’s see what happens” with Maggie’s story. This puts fans of the show in a tough spot. We hope our favorite walker-killing mom will return somehow, someway but there is zero certainty of if or when that will happen.

Along with Cohan’s quote, the show’s storyline might be the best place to look to for hope of seeing Maggie again — whether in season 10 or beyond. Last we heard of Maggie, she took baby Hershel and went to learn more about rebuilding society with Georgie.

There’s little clarity about Maggie’s current situation, but the strongest theory fans have is Georgie is a part of the Commonwealth, a location that appears later in the comics and is essentially a massive, bustling community. There are rumors that Maggie could get a future-slated series, and similar to Fear the Walking Dead, that spinoff could happen in a completely different location.

Then again, Maggie could simply return to The Walking Dead — perhaps to offer reinforcements to battle the impending danger that is the Whisperers — and then the show can shift focus to the Commonwealth.

We’d take that storyline any day over facing Maggie’s permanent departure — or worse, her death.

Given Lauren Cohan’s new series, Whiskey Cavalier, and any future The Walking Dead renegotiations, Maggie’s wellbeing on AMC’s post-apocalyptic show is still very tentative. Aside from our appreciation for the entire cast and crew and our love of Maggie, we ultimately just want to see Cohan succeed in any and every context.

Do you think we’ll see Maggie again on The Walking Dead? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.