zander-mashup
Credit: Jill Johnson/JPI, ABC (3), Howard Wise/JPI

Is Cameron’s dad coming back from the dead, or might the Emmy winner be playing someone entirely different? 

The very first thing most General Hospital fans said when they heard about Chad Brannon’s upcoming return to the soap was, “Wait, isn’t Zander dead?” That was immediately followed by others both confirming that yes, Cameron’s dad bit the dust a while back and pointing out some of the ways in which that doesn’t mean — in technical terms — diddly squat.

To prove as much, let’s play a little game: Would all the current General Hospital characters who’ve never been declared dead please step forward? Not so fast, Carly, Sonny, Jason, Michael, Laura, Taggert…

You get the point.

So yeah, it’s entirely possible that Zander — who was presumed deceased after the Port Charles Hotel fire and later died, supposedly for real, in Emily’s arms after a police shootout — is still somehow among the living.

Certainly, such a resurrection would make for big drama, what with his son Cameron now a young man with problems of his own and a stepdad he’s come to love. Should Franco’s brain tumor prove to be as fatal as originally feared, Elizabeth could use a shoulder to lean on (and preferably not one attached to Jason, given that she’s currently feeling pretty betrayed by him).

On the other hand, Brannon — whom Entertainment Weekly reports begins filming this week and will appear sometime in March — could be playing someone entirely different.

Viewers might recall that when last the actor was seen on General Hospital, he was playing not Zander but unexplained doppelgänger Aaron, who wound up on a plane with the late Emily’s double, Rebecca. (Just go with us on this one… it took you longer to read that explanation than Aaron actually appeared on screen.)

What seems most likely, however, is that Brannon will in fact be playing Zander not as a man resurrected but as a vision. Perhaps he’ll visit son Cameron to offer advice, or ex Elizabeth to express how proud he is of the young man she’s raised.

More: GH just sealed Peter’s fate… or did it?

What say you, General Hospital fans? Do you think Brannon’s return will be a quick hit or something longer? And would you be on board if the show decided to have Zander rise from the grave? Visit the comment section to tell us how you’d like to see things play out, then check out the below gallery in which we list other past characters we’d love to see return.