Andrew Lincoln Opens Up About Making the Decision to Leave The Walking Dead

The Walking Dead series lead Andrew Lincoln finally made his departure official this past weekend at San Diego Comic-Con. As such, the panels and press conferences were rightfully filled with a lot of emotion as the cast and creative minds behind the show opened up and discussed what this means for the series going forward. To begin with, it was more about saying goodbye, but in the press conferences following the panel, Lincoln was able to get into a little more detail about when and why this decision was made.

Part of the nature of The Walking Dead straight from the comic series is that it's a story that keeps on going. That was never going to work for a television show, so bringing Rick's story to completion was something that has been on their minds for years now, as explained by Lincoln this past week.

That said, what makes this the right time to exit the show? For the character of Rick, ending the story of the war with Negan is a pretty pivotal moment, especially opting to imprison the enemy instead of executing him. That alone is a big factor in not upsetting the future narrative too much, since this past major story arc was able to conclude definitively.

That element, along with the actor's family factor, combined to make this the right time to make a move and put the series behind him. Here's what Lincoln had to add to that.

These final statements put a nice wrap on the official announcement of Lincoln's departure from the long-running series. All that remains to be seen is how Rick's story ends for ourselves and how the show can carry on without him. The Walking Dead returns to AMC on October 7th.

About the Author

Chris Morse

Programmer by day, writer by night. Having grown up surrounded by plenty of horror movies and video games, it only made sense for Chris to combine all of these passions into one place: Dead Entertainment. Whether he's working on designs, tinkering with the platform, or just writing up the latest horror news, he's sure to be hard at work keeping the wheels turning on this website no matter what time of day it is. When not coding or gaming, you can find him donning a Cheesehead and heading to the Midwest to cheer on his favorite NFL team, the Green Bay Packers. #GoPackGo

More Reading

Weekly Horror News Round-Up November 7: The Walking Dead, Friday the 13th: The Game, Ghostbusters: Afterlife

Plus, Hulu pulls the plug on Castle Rock, the Resident Evil film reboot adds to its cast, Demon's Souls get a fancy character creator, and more.

Weekly Horror News Round-Up October 17: Friday the 13th, The Walking Dead, Day of the Dead

Plus, I Know What You Did Last Summer gets the green light, You adds to its Season 3 cast, and more.

Weekly Horror News Round-Up September 12: The Walking Dead, Candyman, Books of Blood

Plus, Scream 5 adds to its cast, get Freaky in a new trailer from Blumhouse, the original Friday the 13th is remastered to return to theaters, and more.

The Walking Dead Ending is the Most Exciting Thing About the Show Since It Began

Amidst cast and character attrition, AMC has made the smart move in opting to gracefully end the flagship show at a time that will make sense to the story.