Last week’s episode of The Walking Dead saw the departure of fan-favorite character Michonne (Danai Gurira), but now Chief Creative Officer Scott Gimple is hinting that the katana-wielding badass may get her very own solo movie at some point in the future.
The tenth season episode, “What We Become” – Gurira’s final on-show appearance as Michonne – saw our heroine follow a stranger named Virgil (Kevin Carroll) to an island where he promised there would be weaponry to help Alexandria fight off the ever-looming threat of the Whisperers. Upon arrival, Michonne quickly discovered that Virgil had gone mad when he suddenly locked her inside a cell and fed her hallucinogens, resulting in a very compelling and unsettling string of illusions as she tried to reconcile with choices from her past.
When Michonne eventually broke free, she forced Virgil to show her where he believed the weaponry to be stored, so he led her to an abandoned ship off the coast of the island. It’s there that she finally found something she never expected – evidence that Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) had inhabited the ship years prior. After a quick discussion with Rick’s daughter Judith (Cailey Fleming), who urges her to follow the threads, Michonne takes off to find her love and hopefully bring him home.
Michonne’s sendoff very clearly sets the stage for her to appear in at least one of the three planned films focused on Rick after the explosion on a bridge in season 9 that left her assuming he was dead. While viewers know that he’s still alive (thanks to the episode’s final shot), it will nevertheless be an emotional moment if and when Michonne discovers it for herself in one of the upcoming films.
However, it may not be the only time we see Michonne on the big screen, as according to some statements made by Scott Gimple, there seems to be a chance that the character could appear in her own solo movie at some point.
With the films, we definitely have plans, but even beyond the current plans, I have some ambitions. I love her and Rick together, but I love seeing her as the pure lead on her own, too. It just so happens that there’s a lot of story terrain to cover. But you’re right: it’s ambitions. Right now, the plans have to do with the feature film.
That sounds an awful lot like he’s interested in giving Michonne the spinoff treatment, but only time will tell if such exciting news will come to fruition. And with no meaningful updates on the first movie in the Rick Grimes trilogy, it could be quite a while before any other character gets solo attention.
In the meantime, The Walking Dead returns Sunday at 9pm on AMC for the next two weeks. Unfortunately, however, its season 10 finale has been delayed indefinitely due to the coronavirus outbreak, so it may be a while before we know how things ultimately wrap up in the ongoing battle with the Whisperers.
