Lauren Cohan Might Be Leaving ‘The Walking Dead’

The Walking Dead‘s Lauren Cohan appears to be dabbling in free agency in the midst of a new contract negotiation.

During the time between production of The Walking Dead Season Eight and Season Nine, Cohan’s team is reportedly in talks with AMC to get the actress more money for her role as Maggie Rhee. As the talks are not going in the actress’ favor, she is fielding a serious amount of offers for new TV pilots. According to Deadline‘s report, she is considering nearly half a dozen options so far.

“There had been rumblings that Cohan had sought parity with her male co-stars Andrew Lincoln and Norman Reedus, who are paid significantly more than all of their female colleagues,” Nellie Andreeva writes. “I hear that was brought up early on but was not made a make-or-break requirement for Cohan to come back as she had joined the show later than Lincoln and Reedus who, on average, appear in more scenes than just about anyone else on the series. I hear AMC offered Cohan a modest salary increase in exchange for a long-term contract, which was rejected, a standard practice in talent re-negotiations.”

Of course, this comes as a surprise for fans of the popular zombie drama as Maggie was alive and well the last we saw her. For comic fans, the possibility is a bit more shocking, as the character evolves into a pivotal leader in the books and years which followed the All Out War story pitting Rick Grimes against Negan and the Saviors. Such a deviation, however, would be a bit less surprising after the live-action adaptation of Robert Kirkman’s work chose to kill Carl Grimes, the character who is arguably the centerpiece on the pages.

As production of The Walking Dead Season Nine nears, Cohan’s team and AMC will likely seek an agreement, or her character may suffer a similar fate as Carl, Glenn, and other beloved names as the actress journeys toward other options.

The Walking Dead returns for the second half of its eighth season on February 25, 2018. Fear the Walking Dead will debut its fourth season after The Walking Dead concludes its eighth, at 10 pm ET on April 15. For complete coverage and insider info all year long, follow @BrandonDavisBD on Twitter.