SPOILER ALERT: Read on only if you have already watched Sundays What Comes After episode ofThe Walking Dead.
Rick Grimes is gone… but not gone.
And Ricks story is not over.
Andrew Lincoln on ‘The Walking Dead’.Jackson Lee Davis/AMC
EW can report thatAndrew Lincolnwill be back in the role for a series ofWalking Deadmovies for AMC.
We spoke toWalking Deadchief content officer Scott M. Gimple to get all the scoop.
When and where will these movies happen?
Jackson Lee Davis/AMC
How many are planned?
Are there other non-Rick movies in the works?
What happens to Jadis now?
Jackson Lee Davis/AMC
We asked Gimple who also reveals when the original Rick exit wassupposedto take place all that and more.
Im not sure how far you were at that point.
Did you get to a point, if he had left earlier, what that goodbye wouldve looked like?
Gene Page/AMC
Was that going to be in the middle of the All Out War arc?Oh, yeah.
And its also that remixing of Robert Kirkmans stuff.
He gives you the opportunity to reorder some of the comic story, which I think has worked well.
So how was it originally going to happen?Oh, no!
Im not going to say that!
I never share that.
Its like a sacred sort of alternate reality, the Earth Two thats in our heads.
To tell you the truth, theres aspects of it that we might mine in other ways.
But there was a little bit of shuffling.
But again, you go with the possibilities youre looking at.
It really worked out wonderfully, and were so lucky that it worked out the way it did.
So why another time jump?
Why now?I dont know, thats fascinating.
The last time jump was a jump, but it wasnt a huge amount of time.
This jump is that quantum leap forward from the comic, and its a whole new world.
And it was so surprising, and so intense, and so new.
I think it was unexpected.
When it was pitched to me, I was like, Holy crap.
That is so definitely it.
It got me excited.
(Interview continues on next page.)
So lets talk about these Rick Grimes movies you all are going to be doing.
We are telling Ricks story in another medium, and its going to be these AMC Studios original films.
Theyre going to be on AMC, most probably.
Theyre centered around Rick Grimes.
Each are quality films.
Thats whats been happening in the industry.
Any time frame you guys have for filming these and getting these on the air?
But it really is going to be sooner than later.
On the flip side, these are not going to be made on television schedules.
Will they be filmed down in Georgia duringThe Walking Deadhiatus in filming?
A universe of stuff.
Were not going to release it all at once.
Were going to be putting things out over the years for maximum effect.
We dont want to overwhelm folks with it.
And theyre all going to be very different and distinct from the shows.
Were going to be having different entertainments, different narratives withinThe Walking Dead.
Different tone, different characters.
Were also going to see old characters review some content with old favorites.
We get to revisit them and see stories of their past that we might not have shared before.
Were going to see the past, were going to see old characters.
Were going to move into the future with new characters.
Were doing films, were doing specials.
Were going to be looking at new series.
And even just different expressions of series not necessarily 16 episodes.
We might be doing some mini-series.
Were looking at different ways to tell stories.
Its very important that these be distinct from the other two shows or they really wont be worth doing.
We want to answer questions that the audience had all along.
We want to see just different parts of the world.
We really want to expand out the breadth of whatThe Walking Deadcan be.
I will say that Angela and I and others really want to see Maggie back on the show.
That said, ifWhiskey Cavalierlights up the world, were still going to do Maggie stuff.
Were just going to figure out different ways to do it.
Finally, are you an A or a B?Oh, dear.
And for more Walking Dead scoop, follow Dalton on@DaltonRoss.
