With each passing episode, 'Fringe' gets closer and closer to its series finale and 100th episode "An Enemy of Fate," which began production this week following a celebration of the cult sci-fi hit's five-year run. The final season will resume with this Friday's "The Human Kind," but plenty of mysteries are left between now and then. In particular, we've been wondering; will sci-fi icon Leonard Nimoy's William Bell return, more than just his hand? New details from show-runner J.H. Wyman inside!

'Fringe's final season has reprised a number of plot threads and elements from its previous years, as it works toward its inevitable endpoint next year. One return that has 'Fringe' fans brimming with anticipation is the possible return of "retired" 'Star Trek' vet Leonard Nimoy, who was last seen frozen in amber in last year's 2036-centric "Letters of Transit" before Walter Bishop relieved him of his hand to use as a key to a storage facility.

With the final season of 'Fringe's rapid 13-episode pace, there may not be much room for Nimoy's character William Bell, as show-runner J.H. Wyman clarified to IGN in a recent interview. Spoilers beware:

You know, I’m not going to lie. You don’t see him anymore. He’s been such an iconic part of the program, but the secrets and elements that he was involved in are now on the wane. Now it’s about keeping everybody alive and trying to get there. But his legacy lives on, and what he stands for lives on in a very big way -- and his influence on Walter.

Of course, this wouldn't be the first time we've been told that Nimoy planned to stay retired, or we'd been surprised by the return of the character.  With only 6 episodes left in the entire series, do you think 'Fringe' will find a way to include Leonard Nimoy, or have we really seen the last of William Bell?

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