8 years, 8 seasons and a whole lot of walkers later, The Walking Dead‘s lead star Andrew Lincoln is set to exit the AMC series in the upcoming ninth season. Lincoln plays Rick Grimes, former sheriff deputy and leader of his ever-changing group of survivors season after season.
Who will step up to take Lincoln’s place is still up in the air, but fingers are pointing towards Norman Reedus, his co-star and actor of fan-favourite character Daryl Dixon. Reedus has reportedly received a huge paycheck in the millions to convince him to stay on the show. He would be the logical choice, yet it is uncertain whether Reedus would be able to keep the show going without the iconic character of Rick Grimes.
Other characters in the show are likely on their last legs as well. Danai Gurira, who plays Michonne, has been swept up into the world of Marvel with her badass portrayal of Okoye in Black Panther and Avengers: Infinity War. Meanwhile Lauren Cohan is unlikely to return as Maggie Greene, as she is set to appear in only 6 episodes in the upcoming season and has since been booked as the lead in ABC’s Whiskey Cavalier.
The Walking Dead without Rick Grimes is like a Harry Potter film without… well, Harry Potter. Characters come and go, but Rick Grimes has been the anchor of the show.
Season 8’s finale episode drew the lowest ratings since season 1, with viewers leaving in droves due to the repetitive, dry tone and controversial character deaths. It’s difficult to imagine The Walking Dead without Lincoln, so only time will tell if the show manages to survive his departure.
Joyce is a language nerd whose idea of a good time includes speed-solving Rubik’s cubes and binging Netflix, all fuelled by drinking many, many mugs of tea.
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