'The Walking Dead's Andrew Lincoln to return as Rick Grimes in film series
This article contains spoilers for Season 9, Episode 5 of The Walking Dead.
Rick Grimes ain't done. He's hopped on a helicopter, and is flying right into a film series.
Planning to continue Rick's story after the events of the series, AMC has announced multiple films in development for The Walking Dead universe, starring Andrew Lincoln.
Written by AMC's chief content officer, Scott M. Gimple, and based on the character from Robert Kirkman's comic, the series of AMC Studios Original Films will begin production as early as 2019.
So, where will we meet up with Rick? Last we saw, our mortally wounded hero hopped on a helicopter and flew to an unidentified location, away from the land of The Walking Dead in Season 9, Episode 5 — Rick's final episode.
According to AMC, the first film will explore exactly where Rick is taken, and "what he faces in a new corner of the zombie apocalypse."
"For many years, fans have talked about things in the apocalypse they want to see and now we have an opportunity to explore those stories, beginning with the character who started it all, Rick Grimes," said David Madden, president of original programming for AMC, SundanceTV and AMC Studios, in a press statement.
Lincoln had thoughts of his own to share on what's coming up for his character and The Walking Dead universe.
"It’s not the beginning of the end, it’s the end of the beginning. And I like the idea that we get to tell a bigger story, maybe with a sort of wider vista. And I’ve always been interested in what’s going on out there, you know, whether or not there is contact with the wider world," Lincoln said in a statement.
"I want to know the meta of it all. And I suppose to be able to kind of touch upon that in a contained story for me is a very exciting proposition ... Maybe it’s the start of a bigger story."
It's not the only project currently in development for The Walking Dead Universe, with Gimple set to roll out a multi-year plan involving films, specials, series, and other vaguely described "digital content." Some stories will be standalone tales, while others will relate directly to characters in The Walking Dead series.
"We have a lot on the horizon — starting with a new epic featuring one of the greatest leading actors in television history and one of the best people I’ve ever met," said Gimple in a press statement.
"These films are going to be big evolutions of what we’ve been doing on the show, with the scope and scale of features. We’re starting with the first part of the continuing story of Rick Grimes, and there is much more on the way, featuring yet-unseen worlds of The Walking Dead and faces from the show’s past, as well as new characters we hope to become favorites, told by TWD veterans and emerging voices," he added.
"We want to break new ground with different, distinct stories, all part of the same world that’s captured our imagination for nearly a decade of the Dead.”
UPDATED Nov. 5, 2018, 8:56 a.m. ET with a statement from Andrew Lincoln.
Topics The Walking Dead
Shannon Connellan is Mashable's UK Editor based in London, formerly Mashable's Australia Editor, but emotionally, she lives in the Creel House. A Tomatometer-approved critic, Shannon writes about entertainment, tech, social good, science, culture, and Australian horror.
