'Fringe' Characters' Fates Uncertain

Now that J.J. Abrams' Fringe, starring Joshua Jackson, Anna Torv and John Noble, has escaped cancellation by the skin of its teeth with a renewed, truncated 13-episode run in its fifth and final season, producer J.H. Wyman and his writing team are scrambling to figure out how to finish the arc of Fringe's characters.

One storyline that's being tossed around in the show's continuation, the story of which resumes in 2036, involves the possible death or "disappearance" of Dr. Walter Bishop, played by Noble. "Does it work to kill off a hero?" Noble rhetorically asked in talking about the future of his character with Entertainment Weekly. "I'm not sure that it does sometimes. You can see a person go through an enormous journey, but somewhere at the end of that journey, there's a change — whatever the change is. It's [usually] a change for the better, even though it may mean that person is not there."

Noble believes that the writers will continue to practice their trademark aplomb when it comes to Walter's destiny. "I think it would also be really honorable and dignified if they find some way for Walter to willingly end this nonsense …. I believe they have to."

In other spoilers, Noble implies that there is a good chance that Peter (Jackson) and Olivia's (Torv) "extraordinary love affair" will "become validated."

Find out when Fringe returns to Fox in September 2012.

For more on Fringe and Joshua Jackson:

SPOILERS: 'Fringe' Wraps Up Season Four, Teases Season Five

'Fringe' Renewed For Fifth Season

REVIEW: Fringe — Season One

Diane Kruger 'Doesn't Believe' In Marriage

SPOILERS: J.J. Abrams Returns To A Mysterious Island With 'Alcatraz'