Almost four years after AMC announced that Andrew Lincoln’s exit during Season 9 of The Walking Dead would not be the end of Rick Grimes, we finally got an update on the trilogy of movies that were said to “expand the universe” of the series and “show a whole different corner of the world”: They ain’t happening.
At the tail end of the show’s San Diego Comic-Con panel Friday, Lincoln and leading lady Danai Gurira, who played Michonne, made a surprise appearance to reveal that instead of the features we’d been expecting, they’d be starring in a six-episode limited series, set to bow in 2023, that would wrap up their characters’ storylines. (And, knock wood, reunite them with their kids, Judith and RJ.)
Andrew Lincoln arrives to #WalkingDead panel with Danai Gurira https://t.co/MN5hHJlTnR pic.twitter.com/s3ecktMHq4
— Variety (@Variety) July 22, 2022
Regular viewers of the long-running drama — which returns to finish out its 11th and final season on Sunday, Oct. 2, at 9/8c — will recall that in Season 9’s fifth episode (recapped here), an explosion on a bridge led Rick’s family and friends to believe that he’d been killed. But in fact, Pollyanna McIntosh’s Jadis/Anne had found him and had him spirited away to (relative) safety by the Civil Republic Military that was a focus of the two-season spinoff The Walking Dead: World Beyond.
When Gurira exited The Walking Dead in Season 10, Michonne set off in search of lost love Rick, having gotten a clue that maybe he wasn’t as dead as believed. (Refresh your memory with our recap of her sendoff.)
The new world NEEDS Rick and Michonne. pic.twitter.com/orvvTo8sHi
— The Walking Dead on AMC (@WalkingDead_AMC) July 22, 2022
Said Scott M. Gimple, chief content officer for the franchise: “Rick and Michonne are two of my favorite people, and Danai and Andy are two of my favorite people. Working with all of them continues to be a dream come true.
“The three of us, along with a terrific team of [Walking Dead] all-stars and incredible new voices,” he added, “are crafting an insane love epic worth the long, long wait.”
What’s your take on the change of plans? Ready to see “Richonne” reunited?