New The Walking Dead spoilers have caught a lot of fans off guard. It turns out that another original cast member is about to leave the show.
An exclusive report by Collider confirmed that Andrew Lincoln is leaving The Walking Dead during Season 9. Lincoln plays Rick Grimes, who has been the central character for the first eight years of the hit AMC show.
A lot of Walking Dead rumors had also involved Lauren Cohan, who didn’t have a new contract with the show until recently. As she is now pulling double duty, with a new show starting on ABC called Whiskey Cavalier beginning in the fall, her time with the program could soon come to an end as well.
Andrew Lincoln and Lauren Cohan are each only contracted for six Season 9 episodes. That will likely serve as the first-half of the upcoming season. While it will definitely mark an end to Lincoln leading the show, Cohan could still see her contract extended. If Whiskey Cavalier finds a strong footing with ABC, though, she may also be done fighting zombies.
The exit of Lincoln also closely follows the final episodes of Chandler Riggs. Riggs played Carl Grimes, the son of Rick on the show. Both characters had been with The Walking Dead since the first episodes aired on AMC. Carl ended up dying during Season 8. Now, a big chunk of the original cast will be gone before the conclusion of Season 9.
Negan’s reign ends here. Binge the final episodes of #TWD Season 8. https://t.co/VuqkaplKvs pic.twitter.com/jE1eSq7BTk
— The Walking Dead AMC (@WalkingDead_AMC) May 12, 2018
While these Walking Dead spoilers definitely foreshadow a coming character death, it’s also possible that the writers could take a different route with Rick Grimes. Either way, it sets the stage for a lot of Walking Dead rumors as AMC films Season 9 and prepares for what the show will look like without Andrew Lincoln leading the way.
As for when Season 9 will finally debut, a report by Screen Rant sheds a little light on that situation. The site predicts that the show will likely return in mid to late October 2018.
The Walking Dead will return with new episodes and Season 9 at 10/9c on Sundays in the fall.