How many Family Guy fans actually thought Brian was dead and gone from the show forever? He is a central character, often times the moral compass, and without him the Griffin family is not complete. However, it looks like all the die hards who signed a petition begging to bring Brian back, and the fans who reacted on Twitter can relax. The booze loving, car driving, sarcastic canine, voiced by series creator Seth MacFarlane, will be back!.

On November 24th Brian Griffin died. He got run over by a car and was subsequently buried by the Griffins. His best friend, little Stewie Griffin, yes the baby who can talk (or not?), could not bring Brian back from the dead in his time machine because he was missing the titanium capacitor. Brian was quickly replaced by Vinne the dog, and fans went ballistic.

Omg it just hit me. Brian Griffin is dead! We will never see or hear him again!! #FamilyGuy

— David Lamar (@imdavidlamar) December 3, 2013

Unless they bring Brian back to life on #FamilyGuy very soon they will be losing a true die hard fan #LifeOfBrian

— Matthew Pewtner (@MatthewPewtner) December 2, 2013

And why did the writers think killing off Brian was a good idea in the first place? It seems like it was a matter of keeping the show, which started in 1999, fresh and exciting. Executive Producer, Steve Callaghan, spoke of killing off such a beloved character. “We thought it could be a fun way to shake things up. As soon as this idea came up, we started talking about what the next couple episodes could be and we got very excited about the way this change will affect the family dynamics and the characters.”

But their evil plan to make fans sad seems to be just a clever ruse to spark up some chatter. According to Entertainment Weekly, Brian will come back from the dead…somehow. How that happens, we don’t know. But it is a cartoon that features a talking dog and a psychopathic baby, so the writers don’t necessarily have to factor in believability. You can look for Brian in an episode set to air December 15th.

Family Guy fans are happy once again.

I heard Brian is coming back but I don't want my hopes crushed #familyguy

— Chris Caspari (@_CC3_) December 7, 2013

Creators of Family Guy, NEVER pull a stunt like that on your fans EVER again! #BriansBack

— Crystal Mendoza (@SweetPea42089) December 6, 2013

Even Brian himself took to Twitter to announce his return.

Just to clarify I will be returning to #FamilyGuy on December 15th 2013. #Briansback

— Brian Griffin (@Brian_FamilyGuy) December 7, 2013

Image Via Twitter