The Simpsons revealed how Homer dies as new episode shows Marge has been ‘killed off’

Anyone who's not kept up to date with the happenings of The Simpsons recently will have likely been shocked to read headlines suggesting the family's blue-haired mother had been 'killed off' by showrunners.

In season 36 finale, 'Estranger Things', viewers were treated to a flash forward which saw Bart and Lisa forced to reconcile after Marge's death, a reality which has left Homer a struggling widower.

"I haven’t even watched The Simpsons in 10+ years but they really killed MARGE?!" read one horrified reaction online, while others panicked about what the shock death would mean for the world's most recognisable family going forward.

However, fans should be reassured this isn't the end of the road for Marge, as it's not the first time The Simpsons have speculated about the eventual demise of a main character.

The recent finale episode imagined what Marge Simpson's death would look like (Disney+)

Super-fans of the show will be aware that Marge dying before Homer isn't necessarily set in stone either, as a previous episode of the series suggested the family patriarch would be the first in the family to die.

In season 35's, 'It's a Blunderful Life', the family gather to celebrate their first Thanksgiving after Homer's death, celebrating by retelling a story from a previous holiday where the nuclear plant worker was wrongly blamed for causing a town wide blackout.

While the episode doesn't disclose how Homer actually died, Marge does suggest her husband had passed away peacefully. The fact that the episode is set 60 years into the future also suggests that Homer lived a long and happy life, with all three of his children going on to have children - and grandchildren - of their own.

Hell, even Marge's longterm Homer-hating siblings Patty and Selma appear to have been on good terms with their brother-in-law.

Despite being deceased, Homer is still able to make an appearance at the family dinner in hologram form.

However, the show has also depicted the death of Homer (FOX/Disney+)

Bart also becomes a hologram at the end of the episode, after dying of boredom during the Lisa's story about the Thanksgiving blackout.

The episode is another example about The Simpsons' very woolly approach to continuity, with previous flash-forwards suggesting that Lisa would later become the first female President of the United States.

Meanwhile, it's also been suggested that Bart could grow up to become a Supreme Court Justice, which is a career path that is wildly different from his job running an unregistered care home in their parents' former home in 'Estranger Things'.

This doesn't, however, mean that Simpsons showrunners won't eventually decide to kill a main character off, as they have done with numerous supporting cast members over the years.