Following the circulation of a photo of Norman Reedus allegedly in his role for The Walking Dead, it’s been suggested that Daryl Dixon’s destiny is not looking too bright in the second part of season 3.

As we know, Daryl faces an uncertain fate following the mid-season break of The Walking Dead. Facing his ruthless brother Merle in the screamer pits at the hands of the cut-throat Governor, things aren’t looking great for one of our most beloved characters.

But does it really come to death by hanging for one of the toughest zombie-fighting, squirrel-shooting and generally awesome characters of The Walking Dead?

The photo in question shows Reedus strung up and disemboweled. Gruesome. However, we can confirm that this photo is not of Daryl becoming walker-food, but in fact is a still of Reedus from a previous role.

Taken from the 2009 action/horror/sci-fi flick Pandorum, in which members of a spaceship’s crew wake up completely unaware of who they are or what they’re meant to be doing, the still is of Reedus cast as Shepard. You can find out more about Pandorum on IMDb.

Whilst it has had a lot of us second-guessing what might be in store for Daryl in season 3, it’s certainly got us thinking about what we’re going to do if Daryl doesn’t make it to season 4.

Thus far Daryl has been a key member of Team Rick and fundamental to the group’s survival, not just as a biter-slaying machine, but also as a hunter and provider. Without Daryl, how will our protagonists succeed in breaking the zombie apocalypse?

One thing is for sure though, Daryl Dixon isn’t going to go out without an almighty fight. So don’t go getting hung up on the rumours!

The Walking Dead returns on AMC, Feb. 10 at 9/8 ET/PT.