Collider is reporting that Andrew Lincoln, who plays Rick Grimes, will only be in six episodes in season 9 and will be leaving the show by the end of the season. WTF!?!?
The article also says that AMC has offered substantial compensation to Norman Reedus, who plays Daryl Dixon, to stay on the show and take over as the leading role (LOL WTF, his character can barely talk).
The Hollywood Reporter also has sources that confirm that Andrew Lincoln is leaving The Walking Dead in season 9, and they are also saying that Lauren Cohan, who plays Maggie Rhee, is also leaving The Walking Dead in season 9.
Sources say Lincoln will be phased out in season nine in a fashion similar to co-star Lauren Cohan (Maggie), who will film only six episodes of the series. Cohan opted to exit the high-rated AMC drama and booked the lead in ABC’s Whiskey Cavalier after her efforts to renegotiate a new deal to stay on The Walking Dead went south. After ABC picked up Whiskey to series for a midseason bow, it closed the door on Cohan’s full-time return to the series — even if she had closed a new deal. AMC declined comment.
Source: hollywoodreporter.com
If this is true that both or one of the actors (Lincoln and Cohan) will be leaving during season 9, I would expect Danai Gurira, who plays Michonne, to also leave at some point so she can work on more movies and maybe other television shows as she’s also a big name right now in Hollywood.
This is definitely sad news but it’s understandable from the actor’s viewpoints as they probably want to do something else in Hollywood. If this happens, this will definitely hurt the show and I do wonder if season 9 will be the last season of TWD. What do you think?
