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Rick Grimes’ (Andrew Lincoln) anticipated exit happened on the latest episode of “The Walking Dead” season 9 but he is not entirely leaving the zombie apocalypse franchise. Meanwhile, actress Lauren Cohan is open to possibly returning as Maggie Rhee in the future.
Lincoln’s highly anticipated exit was a major plot point in “The Walking Dead” season 9 episode 5. As expected, Rick left following a heroic deed. But he survived an explosion and was later saved by Anne (Pollyanna McIntosh). Together, they flew on a helicopter going to an unknown place.
Rick being alive also hinted at Lincoln’s continuing involvement in the franchise beyond “The Walking Dead” season 9. This was later confirmed by “Walking Dead” chief content officer Scott Gimple.
Even though “The Walking Dead” season 9 marks Rick’s final hoorah in the TV series, Lincoln will reprise the role on several movie projects for AMC. So, technically, the actor did not leave the “Walking Dead” franchise.
Prior to the release of “The Walking Dead” season 9, producers had planned to expand the franchise beyond its two TV series on AMC. Gimple’s confirmation that they have “a new epic” with Lincoln on the lead is a manifestation of that plan.
“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,” Gimple said following Rick’s exit from “The Walking Dead” season 9.
Maggie Rhee is next in line to leave but her story also has a chance to continue after “The Walking Dead” season 9. Showrunner Angela Kang previously said she is hoping to write more about Maggie if Cohan’s schedule in the future would allow.
Cohan is slated to star in an upcoming show on ABC called “Whiskey Cavalier.” The actress also confirmed with Entertainment Weekly that she has had “creative story conversation” with Kang and Gimple about Maggie’s future but nothing is set in stone at the moment. New episodes of “The Walking Dead” season 9 are released on Sundays, at 9 p.m. ET on AMC.
