Danai Gurira’s exit from The Walking Dead has been a long time coming. It was first reported in the early part of 2019, before the actress made it official at last year’s Comic-Con. Despite her reduced episode count in season 10, Michonne’s appearances have been scattered throughout the run. But her final hour is coming, as Gurira’s last episode on the post-apocalyptic show is expected to be the one airing in a couple of weeks.
Ahead of that, the Black Panther star has opened up about her “heartbreaking” exit from the series in a new video with Entertainment Weekly. In it, Gurira addresses TWD fans and thanks them for their support, as well as recounting how much she loves playing Michonne.
“To all those out there who have shown love and support to The Walking Dead over the years, I just want to express so much love and support to you. Leaving the show has been such a heartbreaking thing because it’s such a beautiful family, both when we get to share it with the world and when we make it together. Playing Michonne has been one of the greatest blessings of my life, and I have deeply learned from her, and grown with her, and adored how I’ve been challegened by her and the amazing relationships I got to form with her and through her.”
Gurira also stated that she will “not just miss her, but her weapon,” referring to Michonne’s iconic zombie-slaying katana. “We had a lot of fun and a lot of wonderful years,” said the actress.
Wrapping up her moving farewell speech, Gurira thanked the “amazing” people she got to work with across her five years aboard the franchise.
“I cannot express more love to the amazing cast and crew that I got to become family with. And also all of you. So I just have to say thank you and goodbye to Michonne.”
Despite debuting as late as season 5, due to the short lifespan of TWD characters, Michonne is one of the longest-running survivors left on the show, so it’ll be a huge blow to lose such a fan favorite. The good news is that there’s been talk of her appearing in Andrew Lincoln’s spinoff movies, so it’s unlikely she’ll be killed off.
The last time we saw Michonne, she was leaving with Virgil to get new supplies from his island to help with the war against the Whisperers. We’ll find out how that goes in The Walking Dead 10×13 “What We Become” on March 22nd. Before that, though, this Sunday brings episode 12 “Walk With Us” on AMC.