Rather than standalones film focused on Andrew Lincoln’s The Walking Dead character, Rick Grimes, AMC Networks is planning a new TWD series starring Lincoln and Danai Gurira as Michonne. The announcement was made during AMC’s final San Diego Comic-Con panel for The Walking Dead.
“Michonne and this TWD family has meant so much to me, and to continue the journey of these beloved characters, alongside Scott and Andy, both creatively and in front of the camera, and bringing The Walking Dead fans something truly special is just glorious. I can’t wait to pick up the katana again,” said Gurira.
AMC’s targeting a 2023 premiere for the six-episode season. Chief Content Officer of The Walking Dead Universe Scott M. Gimple is set to guide the series as showrunner. Andrew Lincoln and Danai Gurira are executive producing and, according to AMC, have been “actively involved in conceiving the creative and the continuation of their characters’ story.”
“This is a moment fans of The Walking Dead have been waiting for since Rick disappeared in the helicopter early in season nine, and Michonne journeyed away on a quest to find him the following season,” said Dan McDermott, president of entertainment and AMC Studios for AMC Networks. “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.”
“This has been the most extraordinary journey playing Rick Grimes for the best part of a decade. The friendships I’ve made along the way are deep and lasting, so it’s fitting that I finally get to complete the story with Danai and Scott and the rest of the TWD family,” said Lincoln. “I’m so excited to be returning to the screen as Rick, reuniting with Danai as Michonne, and bringing the fans an epic love story to add to The Walking Dead Universe.”
AMC offered up this synopsis of the untitled spinoff:
“This series presents an epic love story of two characters changed by a changed world. Kept apart by distance. By an unstoppable power. By the ghosts of who they were. Rick and Michonne are thrown into another world, built on a war against the dead… And ultimately, a war against the living. Can they find each other and who they were in a place and situation unlike any they’ve ever known before? Are they enemies? Lovers? Victims? Victors? Without each other, are they even alive — or will they find that they, too, are the Walking Dead?”
