Fear the Walking Dead fans everywhere were in shock during Sunday's episode of Talking Dead revealed that Kim Dickens would be reprising her role on the show.

On the aforementioned episode, Kim dropped the news fans have been waiting almost four years for.

Madison is back," Dickens declared, adding the following:

“We can confirm it, she’s alive.”

While the announcement came as a huge surprise to fans clamoring for more of the former lead after she was killed off-screen, the plan has been in place to bring her back for a while.

“I’ve had the secret, I think probably since this whole year," the star told the audience.

"The end of the last year, I get a text from Colman, who was on set, and it said, ‘Girl, you need to call me.’ So, I called him, and he was on set, and I said ‘Why, what’s going on?’ and he goes ‘Someone was asking about you on set,’ and I was like, ‘Why are they asking about me?’"

"So, it turns out they were trying to gauge my temperature and sort of availability for a conversation with them, and I said ‘absolutely.’”

Dickens said that the meeting was scheduled for early January, and it was a success.

“So, we all talked, Ian, Andrew, Scott and I Zoomed [in] early-January,” Dickens revealed.

“They gave me their pitch and I was more excited than I even imagined I would be.”

The exit during Fear the Walking Dead Season 4 came as the show was going through changes behind the scenes, and it shocked both fans and Dickens herself.

“I also thought there was so many more stories to tell and so many more places to go, so I was initially shocked and disappointed and heartbroken,” said Dickens to EW following her exit.

“But you know, it’s in the hands of the writers and the producers, and that’s the fate that befalls so many of the characters in this genre."

"Basically, the message is, no one’s safe. And these kinds of deaths will ultimately propel the story of the other characters into other places."

"It’s part of the genre, it’s part of the storytelling device, and I just have to wrap my head around it and go into production.”

There have been many theories throughout the years since that called for Madison's return, and now it looks like we'll be getting some major payoff.

Dickens is back as a series regular, with her first appearance coming in the back half of the seventh season.

She will then return on a more permanent basis on the just-ordered Season 8.

Dickens was complimentary of the show's current form on Talking Dead over the weekend.

"I was able to tune in on Season 7 and I just think it’s gone epic beyond epic,” the actress said.

“It’s incredible to watch, it’s like visually stunning, and the work that everyone’s doing is so exciting and impressive."

"I watched it and I was like, ‘Well, that looks like a show I’d really like to be on.’ So, it’s going to be fun to go back and work with all the new characters and find out what’s happened. I’m a little nervous about that war between two of my favorites.”

Fear the Walking Dead is set to return to AMC Sunday, April 17.

Remember you can watch Fear the Walking Dead online right here via TV Fanatic.

Paul Dailly was an Associate Editor for TV Fanatic.Follow him on X.