The Walking Dead season 9 will see perhaps the biggest death the show has ever had in the form of Rick Grimes, the protagonist of the zombie drama since its very first episode. Though we know Andrew Lincoln’s on his way out of the series, AMC’s obviously keeping details on how Rick’ll be written out under lock and key. However, some resurfaced comments from the star could give us a clue as to how things may go down.
Back in 2014, Lincoln and a smattering of other Walking Dead stars spoke to EW about how they’d like to die on the show. Though his opinions might’ve changed over time, Lincoln was very adamant about how Rick should go, suggesting a way that it could happen as well as even naming a song he wants played over the credits.
“I’ve always said, I don’t care how it goes, but maybe a kid should take me out. It’s funny, because I was in the car yesterday, and I texted Scott Gimple and I said, ‘Promise me, when I die, on the credits sequence, you play Johnny Cash’s version of Hurt.’ And he just said, ‘I can’t make that promise obviously.’ So when I die, please print it in your magazine so that the fans will know to play it, even if we can’t. Even if Scott Gimple decides not to, please everybody play Hurt.”
If Johnny Cash’s “Hurt” sounds like the perfect song to play over the death of a grizzled old survivor living in a dystopian future, there’s a reason for that. The piece was previously used in 2017’s Logan, which culminated with the demise of Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine. It was a perfect fit for the X-Men movie and we can see it working with the tone of TWD, too.
Rick’s exit from the show might be even sooner than we think, as well. Rumor has it that he may only appear in the first six episodes of the run. This has been supported by the fact that Lincoln’s been spotted arriving back in the UK while filming continues in Atlanta, Georgia. Is he just taking a break, or is this really all we’ll see of Rick Grimes in The Walking Dead season 9? Tune in later this year to find out.
