The Walking Dead Stars And Showrunner Discuss The Possibility Of A Rick & Michonne Romance

With Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) once again finding himself tragically single heading into The Walking Dead Season 6, fans are pushing for a romance between him and the katana-wielding Michonne (Danai Gurira). Is there a chance? The stars and showrunner Scott Gimple tell The Hollywood Reporter that they're not so sure.

"They have a very intimate relationship, that's the funny thing. People are like, 'Oh my God, what if they were together?' They're really, really intimate. They have done things for each other that's familial or deep, deep, deep friendship. But the way that they speak to each other — for example in [the season five finale] — represents how far these people have come with each other," Gimple says. "The fact that they reached that bedroom in Alexandria when they had that conversation where Rick admitted that he had a gun and was going to give it to her. I think they have an incredibly intimate relationship right now. Where that goes, who knows? I think there's something to be said about those two characters' journeys right now."

"There's a kind of jokiness to them," Lincoln says. "They're both warriors, but she's one of the few people who can take the piss out of Rick, which is great. She has the arched eyebrow kind of smart-ass remark [persona], and I love playing those scenes. But also she has a great point of contact. There aren't that many people in the apocalypse, but when everybody is dead and it's just me and her left, let's get it on!"

"I always say to Gimple that she's the nun and she don't get none! But it's cool, it shows that there's a palpable true friendship there [for Michonne and Rick] that people can pick up on," Gurira says. "But there's a friendship there that I treasure with Michonne's connection with Rick. He's the one who really challenges her to step out of who she was and who she was becoming. After that fight with the Governor (David Morrissey), she was becoming something quite ugly. … She had to go through that because of Rick, so that caused her to have a respect for him, and eventually he gained a trust and respect for her. There's definitely an intimacy of friendship there."

The Walking Dead returns Oct. 11 on AMC.