The Simpsons' producer clarifies Marge's 'death' and if she will be in future episodes

An executive producer on The Simspons has spoken out after Marge’s ‘death’ in the most recent episode of the show.

Matt Selman, who joined the hit show in 1997, spoke out in a statement issued to Variety. This followed a huge fan backlash to the show’s season finale.

Fans across the board had been furious after Marge died in a tragic twist in the newest episode of the show.

Previous characters have died in various ways in The Simpsons, but no one really as high profile as the matriarch of the Simpsons family. Most main characters that have died also did so in clear spin-off episodes such as their famous 'Treehouse of Horror' Halloween specials.

What happened in The Simpsons season finale?

In the newest episode of the show Marge kicks the bucket (Disney)

For those not caught up on The Simpsons, the season 36 finale of the series saw Springfield jump forward into the future.

The episode follows Bart and Lisa’s strained relationship as they grow up, with Bart running an illegal old person’s home and Lisa having a successful career.

Early on Lisa refers to her ‘late mother’, something which shocked fans of the series.

This was then confirmed by a funeral scene for Marge, which itself revealed a beloved character on the show had died via a hidden headstone in the background.

Selman however has come out to clarify some details about her death and confirm whether this is the end of Marge on the show.

What has the show’s producer said about Marge’s death and if she’ll be in future episodes?

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

Selman was quick to pour water on the fire that was The Simpsons fandom over the last few weeks, assuring them that Marge’s death was not permanent.

He stated a fairly obvious fact: that The Simpsons has no real canon and never has. Selman went on to say: “Obviously since theThe Simpsons future episodes are all speculative fantasies, they’re all different every time. Marge will probably never be dead ever again. The only place Marge is dead is in one future episode that aired six weeks ago.”

This should be obvious from the fact that, in other visions of the future episodes of the show, Lisa has been shown to be the President and Bart has been shown to be a deadbeat Dad whose ex-wife is now dating a bug-alien.

Neither of these were canon in the latest episode.

Selman finally added: “I guess this speaks to the fact that people care about Marge... At the end of the day, it’s probably good for business even when these ridiculous, misleading stories go viral!

Have any characters died permanently in The Simpsons?

A number of Simpsons characters have died, but only a select few have stayed dead (Disney)

Despite his claim that there is no canon deaths in the show, he is only partially accurate. Several others main characters, such as even Homer, have died temporarily in episodes of possible futures, but some have died permanently.

The most high profile of these is two women who both have been married to Ned Flanders at various points in the show. Maude Flanders and Edna Krabappel have both died in the show, the former of which due to a t-shirt cannon mishap.

Edna Krabappel however was killed off due to the tragic death of her voice actor Marcia Wallace in 2013.

Larry Dalrymple, one of Moe’s regulars, was also permanently killed off in the last episode.

Other characters, such as Homer’s mother Mona, have died at various points, but several have reappeared as ghosts or as part of group shots of Springfield.

All in all, though, for anyone worried Marge Simpsons would be one to join them, they shouldn’t be worried.