Does Desmond still occur in Assassin's Creed 4?

I know that

Desmond died during the final of Assassin's Creed III. It was well known that the designers had choosen to end his story together with the triology.

However, since Black Flag introduces Edward Kenway – actually the father of Haythem, the grandfather of Connor – as another ancestor of Desmond, my question is, if this is just to extend the existing universe, or does Desmond still play a role in Assassin's Creed IV?