Andrew Lincoln’s pending departure from The Walking Dead has been an exceptionally strange story all year. First, it was a rumor from a number of Hollywood outlets, so often repeated it seemed destined to be true. Then it was finally revealed at a “goodbye” rollout at Comic Con, where Lincoln and the cast could finally admit it publicly. Now we’re heading into season 9 of The Walking Dead flat-out expecting Rick Grimes to die, not because of a comic turn of events, but because of the actor’s decision.
But one thing has eluded this entire conversation. Why? Why is he leaving the starring role in cable’s most popular show?
Here is, straight from Andrew Lincoln’s mouth (via EW), the reason. And it’s one that we might have guessed at:
“I have two young children, and I live in a different country, and they become less portable as they get older,” Lincoln says. “It was that simple. It was time for me to come home.”
While Lincoln’s family situation (they’re in the UK, if that wasn’t clear) was often cited as a possible reason for his departure, that has not stopped fans from speculating that something far more nefarious was afoot. I have heard endless theorizing that Lincoln was leaving A) because working with AMC was too difficult, B) that he hated the decline in quality of the show, C) that he was upset about Chandler Riggs’ abrupt departure when the show killed off Carl or D) all of the above.
Even after this stated explanation, fans are still more or less saying the same thing, that the real reason is one or all of the aforementioned issues. While it would make sense that Lincoln may have his own secret reasons and doesn’t want to burn bridges on the way out, I think a more interesting scenario of what it could mean if truly, the only reason he’s leaving is to spend more time with his family.
What if he has no real issue with AMC and the current state of The Walking Dead? What if he really doesn’t care all that much about other potential acting projects and may have been content continuing to be Rick Grimes if only he was closer to his family?
This is a reach, but if all of that is true, that leaves the door open to some potentially interesting options. Andrew Lincoln has been weirdly emphatic that his “relationship with Rick Grimes is far from over.” That could just mean continuing to embrace his past role at conventions and such, but it could also mean more than that.
This harkens back to another set of fan theories, ones where Rick Grimes leaves the Walking Dead without being killed.
All of these theories revolve around Rick being kidnapped in some way. One scenario has him being kidnapped by a group and then showing up in the far-flung future once the rest of the cast finds him, and he could return to the show either for the series finale, or just flat-out return for good a few years from now, if the show still isn’t ending by then.
A more elaborate theory has Rick being kidnapped and taken far, far away to say….England. At that point he would be too far away to return to his old crew, and yet this idea involves Rick Grimes starring in a new Walking Dead spin-off set in the UK, where the apocalypse takes some new form overseas, and Andrew Lincoln can film close to his real life family.
I don’t know what I believe at this point. The simplest explanation is that Lincoln is leaving with Rick dying, as that’s what happens in 100% of non-Heath cases on The Walking Dead when an actor departs. But something does feel a little weird about all this, with Lincoln seeming to harbor no obvious ill-will toward the show or network, and emphatically stating that his time with Rick Grimes isn’t over, despite his departure, which seems somewhat contradictory.
Now I’m more curious to watch season 9 than ever, and I suppose that was the idea all along.
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