**If you didn't watch the show last night you may not want to read the following article**
Does contain SPOILERS from Rick's last episode!!
Andrew Lincoln will stay in the “Walking Dead” universe.
The AMC series veteran has signed on to play the iconic character Rick Grimes in multiple feature-length projects in development at the cable network. A series of AMC Studios Original Films, starring Lincoln and written by “Walking Dead” chief content officer Scott Gimple are planned to continue the story of Rick Grimes, with the first expected to begin production as early as 2019.
The move comes after Rick was badly wounded in last week’s “Walking Dead” episode, with this week’s episode meant to serve as his swan song on that 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. “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.”
These are the first projects in development from Gimple since being named chief content officer overseeing the “Walking Dead” universe. At that time it was announced he would look to expand the brand of the show across a variety of platforms.
EDITED TO ADD a little more information ......
Lincoln wanted to leave the series so he could spend more time with his family in England, and the films spawned from a conversation Lincoln had with Gimple, when he served as showrunner on The Walking Dead.
The three movies will be the first of, 'multiple new scripted ventures' that will expand The Walking Dead franchise.
'The story of Rick will go on in films,' Gimple says. 'Right now, we're working on three but there's flexibility in that.'
'Over the next several years, we're going to be doing specials, new series are quite a possibility, high-quality digital content and then some content that defies description at the moment,' Gimple added.
With Lincoln wanting to spend more time with his family, the decision to branch out into feature films was a win-win for both the actor and AMC, who was looking for other ways to expand the franchise.
The Hollywood Reporter has revealed that Lincoln would be required to be in production for two months at a time for each movie.
That schedule pales in comparison to the nine months a year Lincoln spent filming The Walking Dead each season, in the sweltering Atlanta heat.
The movies will explore the time period between Rick's helicopter rescue by Anne/Jadis and the time jump to many years later at the end of the episode.
'It is about who he is and who he's going to be — and certainly how he deals with the situation he's in,' Gimple added. 'We know Rick Grimes, he would want to be home.'
It's also possible that other characters like Michonne and Daryl could possibly surface in the movies as well, but nothing is set in stone yet.
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