The death of Carl Grimes in The Walking Dead is one of the post-apocalyptic drama’s most shocking demises. Though we’re used to our favorite characters getting gruesomely killed off on the show, Carl’s longevity in the comics and status as the son of the unkillable Rick Grimes led us to believe he was off limits. But the brave teen perished after becoming infected with a zombie bite halfway through season 8.
Carl being written out caused a huge stir at the time, as fans were furious that Chandler Riggs had been given the boot. And he hasn’t returned to the franchise ever since, even though there was the perfect opportunity to get him back for a hallucinatory cameo in Andrew Lincoln’s last episode in season 9. But the reason why this didn’t happen has maybe now been made clear, as it appears that Riggs might be coming back for Lincoln’s spinoff movies instead.
According to insider Daniel Richtman, Carl will feature in one of the films that AMC is planning with Lincoln in the lead. Carl won’t be somehow resurrected, though, as he’ll apparently appear via flashback. The tipster doesn’t actually specify that Riggs will be playing the role, so we could be looking at a similar situation to the season 8 finale, which contained a flashback to a toddler-aged Carl, but it seems like a safe bet that Richtman’s scoop means the fan favorite actor will be involved.
Given Riggs’ obvious aging throughout the series, then, this means the flashback can only come from shortly before his death. Maybe Rick will think back to some previously unseen father/son bonding moment with his firstborn during one of the films. Remember, Dania Gurira is also likely showing up as Michonne, following her own exit from the parent series in season 10.
While we wait for these movies to enter production, The Walking Dead returns to TV for six new episodes on Sunday, February 28th.