Why The Walking Dead Star Will Miss A Few Episodes Of Season 8

Following the news of Christian Serratos having her first baby, fans of The Walking Dead are beginning to speculate that her character might be on the sidelines for the first few episodes of Season 8.

Serratos welcomed her baby to the world around Mother’s Day, which is when she shared the first photo on social media. About a month later, Serratos revealed her child to be a girl, in honor of Father’s Day, with another post to Instagram.

With The Walking Dead Season 8 having begun production in the end of April, Serratos’ child birth may have posed a bit of a conflict with her schedule on the AMC series. The first days of production on the Season 8 premiere began the week of April 24, prompting the cast to flock to the Senoia, Georgia set.

The 100th overall episode which will premiere in October will be an action-heavy extravaganza as Rick leads the communities in a charge against Negan and the Saviors. “Where it says it’s all out war, you definitely get that,” Simon actor Steven Ogg told ComicBook.com about Season 8. “Oh yeah. It’s all out war.”

With such sequences ahead, an actress preparing for childbirth and then recovering from it might have a hard time keeping up with the often 14-hour production days in the Georgia sun. It’s not impossible — Sonequa Martin-Green kept her pregnancy a secret from Sasha during an earlier season of the series but this seems to more like Alanna Masterson’s Tara, who was sent on a multi-season long supply run to allow the actress time with her child.

Serratos, however, already performed on the AMC series a good bit while carrying. The only difference, which only the more observant fans of the series spotted, was the substitution of midriff clothing by baggier appearances with a well placed gun often helping to keep any possible bump from viewers.

Rosita, of course, would be valuable weapon on the frontlines of battle — had she not been shot in the Season 7 finale. Like Tara, it appears the crew behind the AMC series had accounted for the actress’ pregnancy when planning for the future season. It was Episode 6×12 which sent Tara on her supply run before she surfaced again in Episode 7×06. Episode 7×16 provides an organic opportunity to sideline a character who would otherwise be eager to seek revenge against the man who killed her once boyfriend Abraham Ford and hook up buddy Spencer Monroe.

The character will, however, be back on The Walking Dead before long and will likely play a key role in the All Out War storyline, though fans might want to expect diminished appearances early on in Season 8.

As for realizing the comic book death of Rosita, Serratos feels a sense of obligation but is in no hurry to leave the AMC series. “I think all of these characters have such incredible deaths, and I think that, yes, you do feel a sense of possession,” Serratos told ComicBook.com. “That is my death. Nobody can have it. However, there are some incredible deaths, like Abraham’s death in the comic book was given to Denise’s character on the show. It was amazing. A lot of the deaths have been flip flopped, and that goes along with how amazing Scott Gimple is at staying true to the comic book while still keeping people on their toes. Whatever death I get, I know that it’s not going to come rightly. It’s going to have been very thought out and it’ll be exactly the death I was meant to have.”

MORE WALKING DEAD: TWD Season 8 Trailer Details Revealed / Everyone Loves FTWD Now / Steven Yeun Up To Return As Glenn Rhee / Ross Marquand Promises A Massive TWD Season 8 / Negan’s Complete Backstory Coming In October

Fear the Walking Dead airs Sundays at 9 pm ET on AMC. The Walking Dead will return for its eighth season in October of 2017. The first trailer is expected to arrive at San Diego Comic Con in July. For complete coverage and insider info all off-season long, follow @BrandonDavisBD on Twitter.