The Walking Dead's Lauren Cohan to return for season 9

The Hilltop will have its leader back for season 9.

Lauren Cohan, who plays Maggie Greene on The Walking Dead, revealed at CinemaCon in Las Vegas on Tuesday night that she will indeed be returning to the AMC drama. While stars Andrew Lincoln and Norman Reedus had previously signed on for season 9 — which begins filming next week — Cohan had been a holdout as she negotiated for a better deal. (One of her cast members showed support for her on social media by posting this simple message: “Pay the woman.”)

When Cohan joined the ABC pilot Whiskey Cavalier, her future on TWD became even more tenuous. However, the actress was at CinemaCon to promote her upcoming movie Mile 22 with Mark Wahlberg, and when asked about her status for the upcoming season 9, she revealed that she will be back.

“I’m going back,” Cohan told EW. “There’s a lot more Maggie story to tell.” As for what viewers can expect? “You know we’re not allowed to tell you anything, but it’s good,” she teased.

The status of Whiskey Cavalier — in which Cohan plays Francesca “Frankie” Trowbridge (whose codename is Fiery Tribune), a CIA operative who must work with FBI agent Will Chase (whose codename is Whiskey Cavalier and is played by Scott Foley) — and whether it will receive a series order from ABC is still unclear, but since The Walking Dead starts filming next week, Cohan would most likely have at least two months free before having to begin working on the new show, and perhaps much longer than that if, for example, the ABC program becomes a midseason entry and starts filming later.

And, of course, if Whiskey Cavalier is not picked up all, then Cohan would be free to film the entire season of The Walking Dead, since the zombie drama’s shooting schedule usually ends in early December.

Whether Cohan’s return to the show is merely short-term or long-term (and long-term is a relative term for The Walking Dead), at least the writers will now not have to worry about leaving the dangling thread from the season 8 finale in which Maggie expressed anger over Rick’s refusal to kill Negan and vowed to show him and Michonne how wrong their decision was. Fans will get to see that play out — and learn whether the farmer’s daughter will ever get her revenge on the man who killed her husband Glenn.