‘Walking Dead’ Star Andrew Lincoln Is Leaving – And Fans Are Not Happy

The Walking Dead without Rick Grimes is like Avengers without Captain America, it just does not make sense.

Numerous reports Wednesday claimed that Andrew Lincoln will be leaving the hit post-apocalyptic series next season. The actor is set to play Grimes for six episodes in the upcoming ninth season.

Rick Grimes has been the main character of the show since it’s beginning; with his departure coming, it seems likely that Daryl Dixon (Norman Reedus) will step up to be main character in the story line.

Although Lincoln has not personally confirmed his departure, he has shared what it is coming up for Grimes in the newest season. “I think there is always going to be a sense of he’s lost all of the most important parts of himself, and yet he has the legacy and gift that Carl gave him that is going to fuel his ambitions for the future,” he told Entertainment Weekly. “He’s got a renewed purpose because of this and because of his son. So it’s absolutely a new man. This is the man who couldn’t see what Deanna saw about the future and still couldn’t see it for a long, long time even throughout all of this and the battle he was hell-bent on vengeance.”

TWD fans are not taking the news so well, believing there is no show without Grimes.

Lincoln will not be the only one leaving the show, there are also reports that Lauren Cohan, who plays Maggie Greene, will also be leaving after season nine.

The Walking Dead Season Nine is set to premiere in mid-October on AMC.