Okay, now he’s really dead.

Jeffrey Dean Morgan confirms that he’ll reprise his role as Denny on Grey’s Anatomy before the end of the season. But then that’s it. Really.

“I can confirm that I will be coming back one more time,” he revealed to us at last night’s Hollywood premiere of Star Trek. “I think it will be done after that. I think I have been on the Grey’s Anatomy set for the last time.”

Morgan wouldn’t say when exactly Denny turns up, but the prevailing theory is that he’ll reappear as a figment of Izzie’s cancer-ravaged imagination in next Thursday’s wedding-themed 100th episode. “Denny has a reason to show up,” Morgan teases, “and it is probably tied to Izzie’s health.”

Given the number of times Denny has returned to Grey’s since croaking three years ago, Morgan states the obvious when he says, “I think they’re regretting killing me off a little bit. But it’s done and it’s been great and I love those people. [Series creator] Shonda Rhimes gave me the opportunity of a lifetime.” [Source]