Andrew Lincoln admits he has been considering a departure from AMC’s The Walking Dead since the hit drama’s fourth season.
Following weeks of rumors, the actor finally confirmed last week at Comic-Con International that the upcoming ninth season will be his last as Rick Grimes, the de facto leader of a ragtag band of survivors in the zombie apocalypse. Details of his departure have yet to be revealed.
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Speaking to Digital Spy at Comic-Con, Lincoln admitted he has been pushing for Rick’s goodbye since 2013. “It was a lot to do with a conversation that Scott [Gimple, the former showrunner] and I had a few years ago, maybe in Season 4, about a shape, and finding some way to complete something that was never going to be completed,” he said.
Continuing about why it has taken another four seasons to reach his goal of being written off The Walking Dead, Lincoln confessed he was concerned about “disturbing the mothership” by axing Rick too soon.
Although The Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman had teased that Rick Grimes couldn’t live forever, in either the comics or on the show, Lincoln’s departure still came as a surprise to fans. However, Lincoln said they should view the positive side of Rick’s swansong.
“Y’know, there was a sense that the story has been a man waking up and you experience this world through his eyes,” he said. “Now what’s exciting, I think, is the fact that the narrative is being freed up. It’s already being freed up from the beginning of this [upcoming ninth] season.”
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There’s no denying that Rick’s departure — be it dead or alive — will be the biggest shakeup on The Walking Dead. Season 8 may have been rocked by departures of fan-favorite characters like Glenn and Carl, but this will likely pale in comparison to Rick putting down his pistol for good.
The SDCC trailer for Season 9 of The Walking Dead has more of an atmosphere of death looming over it more than usual, but fans will have to wait until later this year to see how Rick’s rodeo comes to an end.
he Walking Dead stars Andrew Lincoln (for now) as Rick Grimes, Norman Reedus as Daryl Dixon, Lauren Cohan (also for now) as Maggie Rhee, Danai Gurira as Michonne, Melissa McBride as Carol Peletier, Lennie James as Morgan Jones, Alanna Masterson as Tara Chambler, Josh McDermitt as Eugene Porter, Christian Serratos as Rosita Espinosa, and Jeffrey Dean Morgan as Negan.
