There were plenty of exciting announcements packed into The Walking Dead panel at New York City Comic-Con on Saturday morning. On hand for the panel discussion hosted by Chris Hardwick were series showrunner Angela Kang, executive producers Scott Gimple, Robert Kirkman, and Dave Alpert as well as series regulars Norman Reedus, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Danai Gurira, Cailey Fleming, Josh McDermitt, Seth Gilliam, and Ross Marquand.

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Image via AMC

As reported by The Hollywood Reporter, Kang confirmed during the Walking Dead panel that the hit AMC series would return for Season 11 ahead of the Season 10 premiere on October 6. It was also confirmed during the panel chat that Lauren Cohan, who originated the role of Maggie Greene and left the series back in Season 9, would be back as a series regular in Season 11. Maggie will make her soft return at the end of Season 10 before officially coming back into the fold.

Ahead of the Season 9 premiere, word got out of Cohan's then-impending departure following alleged disputes for a pay bump which led to exploring other acting opportunities, eventually leading her to a starring role on the now-canceled ABC series Whiskey Cavalier opposite Scott Foley. At the time, we knew she would appear in a handful of Season 9 episodes, the door seemingly always open on Maggie's — and, by extension, Cohan's — return. With her time on the ABC series now run its course, it looks like Cohan is ready to come home.

Cohan made a special appearance during the TWD panel, taking the stage in Negan cosplay before revealing her true identity and addressing the cast and panel audience. Of her return, Cohan shared,

"It's completely surreal. It feels just like home. It feels so emotional. It feels really, really emotional. I feel like this is a very special Comic-Con and a very special family and I'm really happy to be here."

The Walking Dead returns to AMC for Season 10 on Sunday, October 6. Check out our review of the new season so you know what awaits. If you're curious to see how Cohan's return went down, you can watch a video of the big moment below: