The Walking Dead Creator Says Andrew Lincoln Has Something Special Planned For His Last Hurrah

If The Walking Dead season 9 is to be remembered as Rick Grimes’ last hurrah, then lead star Andrew Lincoln wants to do “something special” before making his way through the exit door.

Or so says The Walking Dead‘s founding father, Robert Kirkman, who spoke to Kevin Smith at IMDb’s Comic-Con hangout pad about what season 9 has in store.

A radical new era, we imagine, what with Lincoln and co-star Lauren Cohan about to say their goodbyes, not to mention the long-rumored time jump. That’s exciting in and of itself, as AMC’s long-running zombie drama was beginning to exhibit symptoms of franchise fatigue, so what better way to freshen up the formula than to journey into the future, all the while introducing some new blood at the helm?

We are, of course, referring to showrunner Angela Kang, whose first port of call will be to deliver a satisfying finale for Rick Grimes. And at least according to Robert Kirkman, outgoing star Andrew Lincoln has “something special” in mind.

He cares about the fans; he cares about the show deeply; he wants to do something special on the way out; we got something amazing planned; I wouldn’t want to spoil anything, but anybody who’s been a fan of his journey, who loves Rick Grimes, who loves the world of The Walking Dead: You’re going to want to see what we do.

The series veteran and all-around comic book genius went on to address the ways in which AMC’s drama has diverged from his own Walking Dead comic, which still features the adventures of young Carl Grimes, for one.

Yeah, well, it does make the differences between the comic and the show a little bit more… pronounced. But at the end of the day it’s all about Andrew Lincoln: I mean this is a human being, this is someone I’ve known for almost a decade, this is somebody that I love. He’s been sweatin’ in Georgia away from his family for so long.

Now that the first teaser for The Walking Dead season 9 is out in the open, all eyes will begin to turn toward AMC’s panel. It’s scheduled to get the ball rolling tomorrow afternoon at 12:15 pm PT, and we’ll have full coverage for you the moment it’s live.