No one's gone until they're gone: former Fear the Walking Dead star Kim Dickens says Madison Clark can "pop up at some time" despite being killed off in the zombie drama's fourth season. The de facto leader of a group of west coast survivors that included children Nick (Frank Dillane) and Alicia Clark (Alycia Debnam-Carey), Madison survived until the Season 4 midseason finale, "No One's Gone," where she was last seen leading a herd of the dead away from her children and allies Strand (Colman Domingo) and Luciana (Danay García). Cornered against a fence, Madison used a flare to immolate the walkers in a blaze that took her life.

"I think fans are still upset about it at times. I don't know," Dickens told Access when asked about making a Fear the Walking Dead comeback. "That's the nature of the genre, though. You can be gone like that. And you can also pop up at some time, at any time."

There was speculation Madison might return when Alicia, the last-surviving member of the Clark clan, came across painted trees with inspirational messages in Season 5.

The painter was later revealed as lone survivor Wes (Colby Hollman), but Fear sparked speculation Madison could return to save new series lead Morgan (Lennie James) — who was last seen shot and left for dead by newest villain Virginia (Colby Minifie) in the Season 5 finale — when showrunners Andrew Chambliss and Ian Goldberg did not deny theories Madison could be the one to rescue Morgan, whose fate was left unknown when Season 5 cut to black.

Madison's apparent death similarly occurred off-screen, making it possible she somehow avoided a fiery death.

"She would have scurried up that wall like nobody's business," Dickens said when asked how Madison might have escaped. "She had kids on the other side of that wall, she's gonna go get them."

Dickens previously said she was left "devastated" and "heartbroken" upon learning her character would be killed off midway through Season 4. Whether Madison is alive or dead, Dickens never filmed any flashback sequences for Season 5.

Last March, Dickens said she remains open to reprising the role but noted she did not expect Fear to revisit her character.

"As far as I know, she’s dead," Dickens told MovieWeb. "It was the part I’m most proud of. Helping build that show from the beginning, across three different countries, that character was something I felt I had grown my whole career to get to play. I’m so proud of it, and it ended too soon for what I wanted, but there were a lot of changes over there creatively. I can’t imagine they would want to revisit Madison, but she was a great character. I’m so proud of it."

Asked if she would return for a flashback or dream sequence, Dickens answered, "We would have to sit down and talk about it, but I love the character, I love the fans, and ... I was so proud of the show. So, I would never say no, without discussing it and seeing what they were talking about."

Fear the Walking Dead Season 6 premieres this summer on AMC after the ten-episode first season of new series The Walking Dead: World Beyond. Dickens now stars in Briarpatch, airing Mondays at 11/10c on USA Network.

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