Ever since Rick Grimes' departure from The Walking Dead back in season nine, fans have been desperate to find out just where he was taken to in that helicopter.

While the upcoming spin-off movies will no doubt resolve that mystery, it seems that we may get some answers even sooner in new series World Beyond.

Speaking exclusively to Digital Spy about whether we'll learn anything new about Grimes' whereabouts, showrunner Matt Negrete teased: "I can't really spoil yes or no.

andrew lincoln, rick grimes, the walking dead, season 9, episode 5
Jackson Lee Davis//AMC

Related: The Walking Dead: World Beyond first reviews give mixed response to latest spin-off

"But I will say that you will get answers as to potentially where Rick was taken. I think that we'll also get answers in terms of why he was taken there.

"But more importantly, it's really about exploring this world that's going to open up, and it will fit in, in a very important way, with some mythology that was set up in the initial episode of The Walking Dead."

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It comes after Grimes actor Andrew Lincoln recently gave an update on the character's own spin-off, explaining that the movies were very much still happening.

"All I heard was, 'Come back, Rick.' It was so moving," he recalled of a fan interaction. "I turned around, and I just went, 'We're working on it.' So that's my answer to you, we're working on it."

the walking dead world beyond amc
AMC

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Meanwhile, Negrete recently revealed why World Beyond would be only two seasons long, saying: "The thing about World Beyond, it was always about how can we make this feel different? How can we support expectations in a lot of ways? And one of those is not having it necessarily be open-ended.

"I'm kind of [in] two minds about it, because right now we're breaking episode seven of season two with the writers, and we've all fallen in love with these characters. So I think for all of us, we feel like we could write these characters forever. But, at the same time, it's nice to be able to approach a series from beginning to end kind of knowing what our ending is going to be and working towards that ending."

The Walking Dead: World Beyond will premiere on Sunday, October 4 on AMC in the US. UK viewers can catch up weekly with new episodes every Friday on Amazon Prime Video.


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Headshot of Sam Warner

Sam is a freelance reporter and sub-editor who has a particular interest in movies, TV and music. After completing a journalism Masters at City University, London, Sam joined Digital Spy as a reporter, and has also freelanced for publications such as NME and Screen International.  Sam, who also has a degree in Film, can wax lyrical about everything from Lord of the Rings to Love Is Blind, and is equally in his element crossing every 't' and dotting every 'i' as a sub-editor.

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After teaching in England and South Korea, David turned to writing in Germany, where he covered everything from superhero movies to the Berlin Film Festival. 

In 2019, David moved to London to join Digital Spy, where he could indulge his love of comics, horror and LGBTQ+ storytelling as Deputy TV Editor, and later, as Acting TV Editor.

David has spoken on numerous LGBTQ+ panels to discuss queer representation and in 2020, he created the Rainbow Crew interview series, which celebrates LGBTQ+ talent on both sides of the camera via video content and longform reads.

Beyond that, David has interviewed all your faves, including Henry Cavill, Pedro Pascal, Olivia Colman, Patrick Stewart, Ncuti Gatwa, Jamie Dornan, Regina King, and more — not to mention countless Drag Race legends. 

As a freelance entertainment journalist, David has bylines across a range of publications including Empire Online, Radio Times, INTO, Highsnobiety, Den of Geek, The Digital Fix and Sight & Sound

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