It is revealed that the idea to expand the universe to movies emerged back in season 4.
- Nov 5, 2018
AceShowbiz - Andrew Lincoln officially bid his farewell on "The Walking Dead" in Sunday, November 4, but apparently it won't be the last time fans will see him as Rick Grimes. The story of the leading character of the AMC zombie drama is not over yet as AMC is expanding "The Walking Dead" universe with three feature-length movies that will see Lincoln reprising his role as Rick.
"The story of Rick will go on in films," "Walking Dead" chief content officer Scott M. Gimple says to Entertainment Weekly. "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. We're going to dig into the past and see old characters. We're going to introduce new characters and new situations."
It is revealed that the idea to expand the universe to movies emerged back in season 4. Gimple seemingly thinks that it would be a bad decision to put Rick's story to an end considering "Rick Grimes is an amazing character and Andy has done an amazing performance." He continues explaining to The Hollywood Reporter, "There were story ideas brewing that, as the years went on, seemed very compatible with continuing to tell the Rick story in another format that would allow him time with his family."
Of the upcoming movies, Lincoln shares, "It's not the beginning of the end, it's the end of the beginning," said Lincoln himself in a statement. "And 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."
The first movie is set to follow Rick's new journey after being taken in the helicopter under Jadis' command. It will explore the new place he's heading to as well as "what he faces in a new corner of the zombie apocalypse." Meanwhile, the other films will tell various other stories in the "Walking Dead" universe.
Gimple further explains in a statement, "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," adding that the projects "are going to be big evolutions of what we've been doing on the show, with the scope and scale of features."
He teases that Rick Grimes is not the only thing that the new movies will bring. "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'," he shares.
It's still unknown when the three movies are going to be released. Meanwhile, season 9 of "The Walking Dead" airs on Sundays at 9 P.M. on AMC.
