Reports: Andrew Lincoln to leave 'The Walking Dead' during upcoming Season 9
Bill Keveney
The Walking Dead has said goodbye to plenty of significant characters over its eight-season run, but it may be about to suffer its biggest loss yet: former sheriff's deputy and survivor leader Rick Grimes.
Andrew Lincoln, who plays the central character in AMC's long-running, zombie apocalypse drama, will leave during the upcoming Season 9, according to news reports. Collider first reported the story Tuesday and Entertainment Weekly and The Wrap later reported the news, citing anonymous sources.
AMC would not comment on the reports.
Collider says Lincoln could leave as early as six episodes into the new season. The Walking Dead traditionally opens each season in October, with eight episodes in the fall and eight in the spring.
More:'The Walking Dead' recap: 'All-Out War' ends with Rick-Negan showdown
In a 2015 USA TODAY interview during Season 5, Lincoln said he wasn't ready to leave, but that the show could continue without him.
The departure of Lincoln's Rick would be momentous in terms of the character's prominence in the show and also his longevity. With the death of Rick's son, Carl (Chandler Riggs), in Season 8 — itself a traumatic event for the series — only Rick, Daryl Dixon (Norman Reedus) and Carol Peletier (Melissa McBride) remain from Season 1.
The battle between Rick's survivors and the Saviors, led by Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), has been the major story of the two most recent seasons, but it was resolved in April's Season 8 finale.
Over time, Maggie Greene (Lauren Cohan), the pregnant widow of Glenn Rhee, has increased her standing as a survivor leader. The future of Cohan, who first appeared on the show in Season 2, was up in the air for a time but she told Entertainment Weekly at CinemaCon in April that she will return for Season 9. She also has an upcoming ABC series, Whiskey Cavalier.
Another popular character, Morgan Jones (Lennie James), left The Walking Dead after Season 8, moving to sister series Fear the Walking Dead in the first character crossover between the two shows.
