The Walking Dead is finally giving fans the Rick Grimes return they've been waiting for. However, while a series of Rick Grimes movies were long touted, that idea has now been scrapped in favour of a six-episode television series.
Rick and Michonne will be reunited and return to our TV screens in 2023, with the announcement made at San Diego Comic-Con this past weekend. Now, The Walking Dead executive producer Scott M. Gimple has commented on why a series has been chosen over a film.
Speaking to Digital Spy and other press, Gimple said: "We're doing the show for AMC+, six episodes, an epic love story, that's about it."
Related: Walking Dead final episodes' trailer has 'smart zombies' twist
The show will welcome back Andrew Lincoln and Danai Gurira to their respective roles as Rick and Michonne after they left The Walking Dead in seasons nine and 10, respectively. Rick was last seen injured being flown away in a helicopter by the mysterious CRM group, while a season later Michonne left the show after she found clues to Rick's whereabouts and embarked on a quest to find him.
Rick and Michonne were together in the show and raised Judith together. The new spin-off series will explore the "epic" love story between Rick and Michonne, with Dan McDermott, president of entertainment and AMC Studios for AMC Networks, hyping up the show upon its announcement.
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"What a great surprise for the fans at this final Comic-Con for the series that launched this universe and made television history. We couldn't be more excited for a truly epic series finale later this year and to see Andy and Danai return in a new series they helped create, one of three new series coming in 2023 that continue the stories of so many iconic and fan-favorite TWD characters," McDermott said.
This series is just one of several upcoming The Walking Dead spin-offs. Daryl (Norman Reedus) is getting his own show, while Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) and Maggie (Lauren Cohan) will star in Isle of the Dead, a six-episode spin-off series following the unlikely duo as they travel into a post-apocalyptic Manhattan.
The Walking Dead season 11 airs on AMC in the US and STAR on Disney+ in the UK.
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Reporter, Digital Spy
Jacob is a freelance writer who specialises in narrative TV and film.
He graduated from the University of Roehampton with an MA in Journalism and has written for several publications since, including Gold Derby, Insider, and Screen Daily.
Jacob has covered major events in the world of film and TV, including numerous BAFTA ceremonies and the Cannes Film Festival, while he's also been an awards expert for several publications, including Korea's Arirang. His particular areas of interest include Star Wars, the MCU, the Oscars, and Hugh Grant.
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.
