When Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. returns after ' inaugural run comes to a close this fall, a familiar face will join the title heroes once more. Season 5 will, of course, feature the return of Clark Gregg's Agent Phil Coulson, Ming-Na Wen's Melinda May, and Chloe Bennet's Daisy "Skye" Johnson, but it turns out that some of the show's dearly departed (but not permanently) characters aren't so departed after all.

As EW reports, Nick Blood, who played Lance Hunter for 35 episodes in Seasons 2 and 3, is set to make an encore appearance in Season 5. No further details were unveiled, of course, but this should come as good news for fans of Blood and his mercenary-turned-S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, Hunter. The end of Season 3 saw Hunter and his partner/ex-wife Bobbi Morse (Adrianne Palicki) giving the "spy's goodbye" to their fellow agents before disappearing into the wind; the last we saw, they were being hunted by Russian officials for their role in a triple assassination. Blood and Palicki were expected to front a spin-off series titled Most Wanted, but ABC eventually passed on the project.

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Image via ABC

So while Blood is back for at least an encore presentation, his partner-in-crime Palicki is currently onboard The Orville, Seth MacFarlane's upcoming space-based dramedy that debuts on Fox this weekend. That show wrapped production on its 13-episode order, but early reviews put a renewal order in question. Tune in to Fox this Sunday night to check it out, along with Palicki's performance.

Season 5 of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. will air on Fridays at 9/8c this fall. Get caught up on the show by checking out our recent write-ups below:

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Image via ABC.