The Walking Dead is about to lose another of its longest-serving cast members in season 10, as Danai Gurira is bowing out of her role as Michonne during the upcoming run of the post-apocalyptic drama. The actress officially announced her exit at San Diego Comic-Con last month, causing an outpouring of sadness from the TWD fandom online.
Someone else who’s going to miss Gurira on the show though is her co-star, Norman Reedus. The Daryl Dixon actor has seen so many of his pals leave the series by this point that you can’t blame him from trying to hold on to the Michonne star. In fact, Reedus admitted at SDCC that he’s been “begging” Gurira to remain on The Walking Dead a little longer.
“I’ve been begging her to stay since we started the season. She’s such a strong character, and she’s such a sweet lady, and she’s fun to work with, and she’s always on point.”
Reedus went on to say how much he enjoys working with Gurira and that he’s going to miss having her around as much as he misses Andrew Lincoln as Rick Grimes, who vacated the series last fall.
“She shows up on set for a tiny scene with a notebook full of notes. She’s a joy to be around. I’m gonna miss her as much as I miss Rick, to be honest. She’s awesome.”
Not that it was an easy decision for Gurira to make, mind you. The actress got very emotional when revealing the news at Comic-Con, explaining that she felt “called to” explore new opportunities but that her “heart does not leave [with her], in any way, shake or form.” This might be a slight tease that she’ll return for Lincoln’s movie trilogy, as has been rumored.
The Walking Dead season 10 premieres on AMC on Sunday, October 6th and Gurira is expected to appear in a handful of episodes that will stretch across the 16-outing run.
