The upcoming ninth season of The Walking Dead will be Rick Grimes's last, as actor Andrew Lincoln is exiting the show to pursue other projects, reports say.
Lincoln is going to leave the highly popular AMC series during Season 9, which is currently in production. His character will only appear in six episodes of the upcoming season, indicating a less significant role.
US Weekly first broke the news, citing multiple sources.
Norman Reedus To Become New Lead
"Andrew is leaving because he's had enough of it and wants to focus his energy on movies," an insider allegedly told US Weekly. Meanwhile, Lincoln's costar Norman Reedus, who plays Daryl Dixon, reportedly negotiated a $20 million paycheck to stay. He is also expected to become the show's new lead, reports Collider.
Lauren Cohan Will See Reduced Role
In addition, it appears Lauren Cohan, who plays Maggie Rhee, will only appear in six of the season's first eight episodes. Her new show Cavalier Whiskey, on which she plays the lead character, is said to be the reason for her reduced screen time on the upcoming season of The Walking Dead. It's not clear whether she'll return if the show is renewed for a 10th season.
Lincoln's departure is just one of the many turmoils the show has seen recently. Aside from changing showrunners, Grimes's son Carl, played by Chandler Riggs, was killed off in Season 8, and there are rumors Cohan could be next, which, given her low episode count next season, seems a strong possibility.
How Grimes's story will come to a close is unclear. One possibility is he'll be killed, which is usually what happens to a character when the actor that plays them needs to leave the show permanently. However, it's hard to imagine the showrunners will conclude his arc haphazardly. But however he exits, it's bound to happen before the season finishes, reports say. For Lincoln, this is not only a chance to pursue other roles in the big screen, but to also go to the UK to spend more time with his family.
In the past, Lincoln has expressed wanting to see an endpoint for his character.
"There's part of me that really wants to complete something. How long that takes? I don't know but certainly I really think the fans and my character deserves an end point as some time in the future."
The Walking Dead returns to AMC this fall.
What do you think will happen to Grimes this season? As always, if you have any predictions, feel free to sound them off in the comments section below!
