Since the official statement from AMC announcing the end of The Walking Dead proper with an expanded two-year-long 11th season, fans have been wondering who might make a return to the group. However, one character who has ruled themself out.

Speaking with CBR, actor Michael Rooker, who played the fan-favorite character Merle Dixon, shed some light on his potential return for the final season. “Not that I know of. I can take a hint, they killed me two times. [Laughs] Unfortunately, I don’t think that’s going to happen.”

The brother of veteran survivor Daryl Dixon, Merle’s story begins in Season 1 with the brutal decision to cut off his own hand after being handcuffed to an Atlanta rooftop by series lead Rick Grimes. Rooker’s character then took a year away from the show, aside from a dream sequence cameo in Season 2, before re-joining the cast in Season 3 alongside series villain The Governor, played by David Morrissey. After reconciling with his brother and the survivors, Merle took on a redemptive arc, attempting to trade Michonne’s life for the safety of Daryl and the rest of the group at the request of Rick before being beaten half to death and shot off-screen. Merle’s zombified corpse is later found by Daryl before he tearfully stabs Merle in the head multiple times.

Season 10 of The Walking Dead recently came to an abridged climax with the long-awaited Episode 16 “A Certain Doom.” Amongst the twists and turns of the episode, fans were treated to the return of one of the series longest-surviving characters, Maggie Rhee.

Fans of the show will remember that Maggie hasn’t been seen since the departure of Rick in Season 9, another episode filled with special guest appearances from The Walking Dead alumni — Jon Bernthal as Shane, Sonequa Martin-Green as Sasha and Scott Wilson as Hershel.

With a rich history of surprise cameos and guest appearances, fans of AMC’s hit series can be forgiven for expecting something pretty spectacular for the show’s final season. Rooker may not have got the call yet, but fans can hold out hope that he might make an appearance in the upcoming Tales from The Walking Dead anthology.

The Walking Dead stars Norman Reedus, Melissa McBride, Josh McDermitt, Christian Serratos, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Seth Gilliam, Ross Marquand, Khary Payton and Cooper Andrews.