Last night, Andrew Lincoln bid farewell to The Walking Dead...for now. AMC Studios has officially announced that a series of original films starring the British actor are in the works which will see him reprise the role of Rick Grimes. Chief Content Officer Scott M. Gimple is writing the trilogy, while production is expected to begin as soon as next year.
Lincoln describes it as "the end of the beginning" and it sounds like the scope of these movies which will continue the character's story are going to have a much wider scope than the TV show.
"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. 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."
AMC and Gimple reportedly has a multi-year plan for The Walking Dead Universe and there are a number of projects in development, including more movies, specials, TV shows, and digital content. How many of those will become a reality after ratings for season nine have plummeted is obviously hard to say as of right now. Here's what Gimple has to say about what's next:
"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. 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. 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."
Deadline confirms that the plan is for the first Rick Grimes movie to explore where he was taken on that helicopter and to focus on what he faces in a "new corner of the zombie apocalypse."Are you guys excited to see what the future holds in store for The Walking Dead Universe? Sound off below.
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