Andrew Lincoln may not have his sheriff’s hat or revolver, but that’s not keeping him from being “very, very excited” for Rick Grimes to return in the Walking Dead movie, which is planned to begin production this spring/summer. The last time we saw Lincoln’s Rick Grimes was during the ninth season of TWD in 2018. He blew up a bridge preventing a zombie horde from crossing. It would seem that he was also a casualty of the explosion, but viewers would eventually see him being rescued by Anne (Pollyanna McIntosh) and both leave on a CRM chopper. The Walking Dead Universe Chief Content Officer, Scott Gimple, announced that Rick Grimes would continue in a series of AMC original films that would eventually be upgraded to bigger budget movies distributed by Universal Pictures and premiere in theaters.
Andrew Lincoln Talks About Being Away From TWD
In the latest print issue of SFX Magazine, Lincoln talked about Rick, who we last saw flying away in Civic Republic Military helicopter, being away from the zombie series. “Initially, I didn’t miss him too much because it was such a great finish to my story on the TV show.”
Lincoln also talked about staying in touch with the rest of the TWD cast. “Also, I am in very, very close communication with all of my friends from Atlanta, so I’m always in touch with them. But then this extraordinary situation happened in the world and we all pushed the pause button, and also there had been so much happening in a country I see as my second home.”
He initially left the Georgia-based production to spend more time with his family, which eventually turned into his children urging him to reprise his Rick Grimes character and get back to kicking some zombie tail.
“I’ve never missed America more than last year, actually — it’s quite interesting,” Lincoln said. “And my children… I came back for my children and they’re like, ‘What are you doing? We want to go back to America, get your boots on and start getting into the zombies!’ So there’s a certain sense that I’ve missed the character — I think he’s a magnificent character and I loved being Rick.”
The Walking Dead Movie
Gimple co-wrote the TWD movie script along with Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman. Gimple and Lincoln will serve as the zombie film’s producers. Lincoln also shared he has not strayed too far from The Walking Dead though the actor has been away from Rick Grimes since 2018.
“Throughout all of this time, percolating underneath it, has been lots of script-writing and development for the feature,” he told SFX. “So it’s difficult because I’ve always had one eye on the movies. And then of course we’ve waited and waited and waited. Hopefully, we should be receiving a script any day now, so we are very, very excited and we’ve got a wonderful team involved in it. So yes, the short answer is I’ve missed it greatly the last year. I’m looking forward to getting back.”
Lincoln also told SFX Magazine he would “never say never” to making an appearance in the eleventh and final season of The Walking Dead and that the Rick Grimes movie will begin shooting “at the first available opportunity.”
The Walking Dead final season begins Sunday, August 22, 2021 on AMC.
