Andrew Lincoln, the actor who portrayed The Walking Dead protagonist Rick Grimes for roughly nine seasons, has said he’s eager to reprise the role for an upcoming set of movies. Reportedly a trilogy, these films will see Rick embark on a new, solo adventure after being separated from a crew who has all but pronounced him dead.
According to his colleagues, Lincoln has been “itching” to get back into the role and it’s easy to see why. Not only does the sheriff turned survivalist turned messiah remain the actor’s best-known and most profitable part to date, but he’s doubtlessly been waiting out the coronavirus-induced quarantine eager to return to the industry.
Scott Gimple, the screenwriter in charge of developing the Walking Dead films, also shared a few details about the actor during a Comic-Con@Home panel. As far as Rick is concerned, he said that “so much of what we’ve been doing is honing and tweaking and experimenting, and we’re just in the lab with it.” Speaking about Lincoln in particular, Gimple said he’s not the only one “itching to get back.”
Some fans are hoping that the movies will increase Rick’s chance of returning to the main show, too. Whether this will actually happen, however, remains to be seen. We’ve heard reports that he could appear in the series finale, but as of yet, AMC hasn’t confirmed anything.
Meanwhile, although little is yet known about The Walking Dead films, the writers have teased that they’ll explore a completely new side of Rick. That’s quite the claim, especially when considering how he was at the forefront of the show for almost a decade. Skepticism aside, though, the movie will put him into an environment he’s never been in before, so at least there’s that.
