Andrew Lincoln’s days headlining The Walking Dead are numbered, that much we know, but an ambiguous Tweet from AMC has fueled rumors that Rick Grimes may well survive the show’s ninth season.
As reported by Screen Rant, the curious Tweet simply reads, “don’t believe everything you hear,” which can be construed as the network’s subtle response to the rumor that Rick was about to be killed off during the fifth episode of The Walking Dead season 9.
Avid viewers pointed to leaked set photos and an alleged Walking Dead script as evidence for Rick’s early departure, but it now seems that said rumor has effectively been debunked, leaving the circumstances of Andrew Lincoln’s exit up for debate. We know he’s agreed to bow out of AMC’s zombie drama after just six episodes of season 9 – ditto for Lauren Cohan (Maggie), who is ready to commit to freshman drama series Whiskey Cavalier – but this Tweet appears to suggest that he may be written out of the series, as opposed to being killed outright.
Then again, saying goodbye to a character of Rick’s stature deserves a sense of closure, as the decision to leave things open would only undermine Andrew Lincoln’s departure, leading to months – if not years – of questions about when and how the character will return. Just like Carl before him, perhaps it’s best if The Walking Dead‘s leading man is bumped off entirely? We’ll leave that one up to you.
Whatever the case, season 9 of The Walking Dead is scheduled to premiere on AMC in October, by which point we should have a much better understanding of Rick’s final farewell. We’re not crying, you’re crying!
