In the next few months, fans of the AMC zombie drama The Walking Dead will be saying goodbye to the main protagonist, with Andrew Lincoln set to call time on his role as Rick Grimes after nine seasons.
However, the actor – who has decided to quit the show so he can spend more time with his family in the UK – has revealed to Entertainment Weekly that he’s already plotting his return, albeit as a director.
“I’m going back [to the set],” said Lincoln. “I’m going back to shadow a director, and my intention is to direct next year…I can’t be that far away because I can’t bear it. That’s how much I am invested in the show and the continuation of the story.”
Lincoln does have some previous directing experience on another of his former shows, having helmed a couple of episodes of the British show Teachers back in 2003. Meanwhile, Lincoln’s former TWD co-star Michael Cudlitz (Abraham) is also getting behind the camera to direct an episode in the upcoming ninth season.
SEE ALSO: The Walking Dead season 9 trailer teases Rick Grimes’ final episodes
SEE ALSO: Jeffrey Dean Morgan on what Rick’s departure means for Negan and The Walking Dead
“Last season brought the culmination of “All Out War,” which pitted Rick Grimes and his group of survivors against the Saviors and their cunning leader, Negan. With Negan’s life in his hands, Rick had a character-defining choice in front of him. By making the unilateral decision to spare Negan, Rick upheld the values his late son, Carl, championed in order to build for the future, but created conflict within his group. Now, we see our survivors a year and a half after the end of the war, rebuilding civilization under Rick’s steadfast leadership. It is a time of relative peace among the communities as they work together, looking to the past to forge the future, but the world they knew is rapidly changing as man-made structures continue to degrade, and nature takes over, changing the landscape and creating new challenges for our survivors. As time passes, the communities confront unexpected obstacles, danger, and of course, walkers, but nothing quite prepares them for the formidable force they are about to encounter, which threatens the very idea of civilization that our survivors have worked so hard to build.”
The Walking Dead season 9 premieres on October 7th on AMC.
