Lauren Cohan left The Walking Dead back in the first half of season 9, but unlike Andrew Lincoln, the actress hasn’t officially said goodbye to the TV series. In fact, Cohan has pretty much promised that she’ll be back at some point, which showrunner Angela Kang has corroborated by saying she hopes for some sort of role for Maggie Rhee in season 10. But while we might be seeing the actress in a guest spot, don’t expect her to become a regular again.
When speaking at the Television Critics Association press tour, Cohan made it clear that she wouldn’t be joining the cast in a “name in the opening credits” capacity any time soon. The actress moved on to ABC comedy-drama Whiskey Cavalier this year and, even if it doesn’t make it to its sophomore run, Cohan seems to have multiple other projects lined up. The star said that she “had the pick of the litter” once she left TWD but chose Whiskey as she “got to go to a territory that was fun.”
Cohan’s last appearance on TWD was back in season 9’s fifth episode, the same week that Rick Grimes was taken away in a helicopter. Unlike Lincoln’s exit, however, Maggie’s farewell occurred off-screen. Following that episode, the storyline jumped forward six years and Maggie was explained to have left Hilltop with her son Herschel to help build a new community with Georgie’s group.
Fans have theorized that this community likely becomes the Commonwealth, the largest society of survivors in the TWD universe – they even have their own stadium. This has led to rumors that AMC could be developing a spinoff based around Maggie creating the Commonwealth. Although, even if this was ever the case, it seems that Cohan has now re-evaluated her future with The Walking Dead.
