The Walking Dead‘s decision to deviate from the comic book and kill off Carl Grimes wasn’t exactly popular – but, it turns out, the series did try to bring the fan-favourite back.

Shortly after admitting some of his performances as Carl were “lazy”, actor Chandler Riggs has revealed that Walking Dead bosses tried to sign him up for some flashback scenes.

Speaking to TVLine, Riggs said plans for him to (briefly) reprise his role in season eight “never ended up getting worked out”, something the actor actually preferred.

“For the storyline to make sense, I feel like after so much time — and having a completely new ensemble of characters in the cast — it makes more sense to just let Carl be and have that story wrapped up,” Riggs explained.

This isn’t the first time Chandler Riggs has downplayed his time on the zombie drama – in recent comments he even admitted the show may have been “better off recasting Carl”.

“In hindsight and in the best interest of the show, I do feel like if I didn’t get killed off, things would not have gotten better on my end, and TWD might’ve been better off recasting Carl,” he said.

Carl’s storylines from the comics have been split up for season 9 of The Walking Dead – with Henry (Matt Lintz) taking Carl’s place in the Hilltop relationship arc, and Carl’s younger sister Judith (Cailey Fleming) filling in for the TV show’s version of the Negan scenes at Alexandria.