Andrew Lincoln

The cast and creators of ‘The Walking Dead’ were on hand at Hall H for their annual panel at San Diego Comic-Con, but there was an extra air of melancholy as fans realized that this would be the final con appearance by Andrew Lincoln, the series’ star.  For eight seasons, Lincoln has portrayed Rick Grimes, the leader of the survivors at the show’s center.  With the series headed into its ninth season, the cast’s contracts were up for renegotiation and Lincoln came to the hard decision to cut back his episodes to six, in order to spend more time with his family in the United Kingdom.  And from there, a strategy was hatched for Rick to exit the series for good.

This is what Lincoln stated at the panel:

“Well, nine years I was thinking about it because that’s [U.K.] where we live. But I suppose it was a lot to do with a conversation that Scott and I had a few years ago, maybe in season 4, about the shape and finding some way to complete something that was never going to be completed. And then, obviously, not disturbing the mothership, y’know? There was a certain sense that this story has a man waking up and you experience this world through this one man’s eyes and it opens up into the extended family.

 

Now what’s exciting, I think for me, is the fact that the narrative has been freed up and it’s really been freed up. And from the beginning of this season, you see the trailer it’s a different time. It feels like the show I always felt we would head toward when we wrapped the pilot. And so yeah, in short, it was something that I started to think about as my children got older and less portable.”

Lincoln probably doesn’t regret his decision to leave, but he does regret the fact that news of his departure was revealed back in May.  In a separate interview with Entertainment Weekly, he said:

“There is a certain sense of relief this morning.  But I still regret that the story broke, because I believe in story and I think it would have been… it’s gonna be a great season but it would have been greater if it was not spoiled to a degree.”

‘The Walking Dead’ returns to AMC on October 7, 2018.

Source: Screen Rant