Chandler Riggs surprised by Andrew Lincoln’s departure from The Walking Dead
By Ryan Stuver
Actor Chandler Riggs (Carl Grimes), is shocked by the news that his former onscreen father Andrew Lincoln (Rick Grimes) is leaving The Walking Dead.
Shocking (and potentially devastating) news broke three weeks ago that Andrew Lincoln, the protagonist and backbone of The Walking Dead, was leaving the show.
This decision could cause Lincoln to join Chandler Riggs amongst The Walking Dead alumni. Riggs character Carl Grimes was stunningly killed off in the middle of the shows recent eighth season. The risky decision was made by showrunner Scott Gimple, who wanted to really blow away the audience. Killing Carl ended an era, started another, and gave Rick a reason to spare Negan.
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The choice to write his character off of the show was surprising to Riggs. Lincoln’s rumored exit shocked him even more.
Riggs spoke at the Fandemic fan convention, giving Good Day Sacramento his reaction to the major reports:
"“Of course, yeah. I mean Andy has been on the show so long and he’s had to leave his family every single year, so I was surprised but at the same time it’s gonna be good for him to get back to his family and raise his kids… I haven’t actually [talked to him about it], I haven’t talked to him in months but, yeah.”"
That last sentence really stands out, as Riggs didn’t want to leave The Walking Dead, a show that had kickstarted his career at the age of ten. Now that the shows biggest star is walking away, it’s very possible that Gimple and the rest of the shows writers are kicking themselves for offing Carl Grimes. Now they’re down to Norman Reedus to carry the reigns of AMC’s zombie drama.
It hasn’t been confirmed exactly why Lincoln decided to step away after eight seasons. Riggs believes it was due to all of the traveling and time spent away from his family in the UK. It could also very well be because he desired to be a part of other projects. Is it because the recent decline in the shows ratings? Lincoln’s decision to leave most likely came after the decision to kill his onscreen son.
Next: Fear The Walking Dead Season 4: The positives and negatives
The Walking Dead universe has really been shaken up. For eight long season the show hasn’t deviated too far from Robert Kirkman’s comics of the same name. That’s all about to change in a major way.
Now that Carl Grimes (definitely), Rick Grimes, and possibly even Maggie Rhee could all be gone, it will be very interesting to see where the show goes.