The Walking Dead has officially returned to the airwaves for Season 8, and the premiere made it quite clear that the all-out war between Negan and Rick's forces is only just beginning. Rick and Co. have every reason to do everything in their power to take out the Saviors, and the assault on the Sanctuary in the premiere almost certainly motivated Negan to seek some revenge. The stage is set for the possible returns of characters who are currently missing. Read on for our four picks of missing characters that just might return in Season 8!
Heath
Heath disappeared from The Walking Dead back in the Season 7 episode "Swear," which saw him team up with Tara for a supply run. The duo ran into a nasty horde of Walkers, and they were separated. Tara ended up in Oceanside and lived to return to Alexandria, but Heath was just gone when Tara went back to look for him. While his glasses were still there, he was nowhere to be found, and the only clue was a mysterious key card with "PPP" on it. Now, the real-life reason for Heath's sudden absence was that actor Corey Hawkins scored the lead role on Fox's short-lived 24 revival. The show never definitively settle what happened to him, and he could definitely make a comeback. Even if it's not in Season 8, it could certainly still be in the cards. Hawkins hasn't ruled it out.
Cyndie
Cyndie made her Walking Dead debut in the very same episode that saw Heath go missing. A resident of the Oceanside settlement, Cyndie was a friend to Tara after Tara ended up in their midst, and Cyndie saved her life a number of times in quick succession. When Tara brought Rick and Co. to Oceanside to take all of their guns to prepare for war against Negan, Cyndie wanted Oceanside to rise up and join the fight against the Saviors, as the Saviors had murdered most of the men of the settlement after a failed uprising. Cyndie ultimately remained behind in Oceanside in Season 7, but there's no reason why she might not show up in Season 8. Who knows? Maybe the other Oceanside folks will be inclined to join Rick now that Rick has some respectable allies in Hilltop and the Kingdom.
Morales
The return of Morales would be a real blast from the Walking Dead past, but it's definitely not out of the question. Last seen all the way back in Season 1, Morales and his family went their separate way from Rick and his supporters when they decided to head for the CDC in Atlanta. Morales and his family decided to head for Birmingham instead, and he remains one of the few named characters from the quarry in Season 1 who didn't die. Admittedly, it would be a pretty crazy coincidence if Morales turned up in the D.C. area to reunite with Rick after parting ways back in Georgia. Nevertheless, stranger things have happened on The Walking Dead, and an appearance from Morales could be another reminder of how much all the characters have changed. Rick and Morales parted as friends; if they meet again, that may not be the case anymore.
Sherry
Poor Sherry might be better off if she doesn't return to The Walking Dead, although a return is quite possible given how she made her exit. She had become one of Negan's wives in order to stop Negan from killing Dwight, and she finally hit her breaking point around when Daryl landed himself in the bowels of the Sanctuary. Sherry ultimately let Daryl go and ran away from the Sanctuary. When Dwight went to find her and bring her back, all he found was a note and her wedding rings. In the note, she wasn't entirely optimistic about her chances of survival alone in the zombie apocalypse, but she couldn't stand living at the Sanctuary as one of Negan's wives anymore. If Sherry is still alive, she might not have gotten far, and she could definitely still be in the area.
You can catch new episodes of The Walking Dead on Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on AMC. Even if we don't know for sure just yet which of these characters will and will not be back, we can count on plenty of action. A brand new character debuted last week, and the trailer for the next episode promises some exciting twists, so be sure to tune in.
