The Walking Dead fans were shocked when Rick Grimes was written out of the show early in season 8. Not long after, though, they were able to rest easy as AMC announced that the longtime protagonist had only left the series to star in his own feature film. This allowed Andrew Lincoln, the actor who plays Grimes, to spend more time with his family, while Rick lived on in the TWD universe.
Though announced in November 2018, few updates have been provided regarding the character’s solo adventure since. Production on the film was rumored to have been set for late 2019, but the movie reportedly had trouble with its script and underwent extensive rewrites.
Now, it seems that there’s some good news from Lincoln himself. According to The Walking Dead veteran, the crew is still very involved in the project. In fact, he shared an amusing story with Collider recently about a fan who recognized the actor and asked about Rick’s return. The Walking Dead star’s response was that they’re currently “working on it.” According to producer Scott Gimple, Lincoln is “super involved” in the upcoming film’s creative process, too, which proves that he isn’t ready to retire the iconic role just yet.
This news comes as the TWD franchise is kicking into high gear. The Walking Dead season 10 finale is premiering early this October, and it’ll be followed by the premieres of both Fear The Walking Dead season 6 and The Walking Dead: World Beyond season 1. Additionally, AMC recently announced that The Walking Dead would be concluding after an extended 11th season, but it won’t be the end of the road for some of the flagship show’s staple characters. Carol and Daryl will star in an upcoming untitled spinoff series, and an anthology project called Tales Of The Walking Dead is currently in development, too.
Clearly, the future is bright for the TWD universe. Add the extensive list of television projects to the upcoming Rick Grimes movie, and there will be premium zombie content from The Walking Dead for years to come.