‘The Walking Dead’: Lauren Cohan Says Maggie’s Story is “Not Finished” in Season 9

Fans have been tallying the blows dealt to the hit zombie series The Walking Dead this year, from Carl’s death to Rick’s impending exit. And there’s also the possibility that popular character Maggie will be leaving soon too.

Series star Lauren Cohan has played the character ever since Season Two and has become a one of the most popular faces in the franchise, but contract disputes with network AMC lead to her taking a role on another series that’s set to premiere this fall.

Cohan spoke on the SiriusXM show Andy Cohen Live about her issues with negotiating a new contract and why she chose to sign onto the new ABC series Whiskey Cavalier. Word came out earlier this year that Cohan was demanding a major pay increase to appear in more episodes of The Walking Dead.

“It wasn’t actually that I was asking for it, it was that my contract had finished,” said Cohan. “So that’s pretty standard renegotiation.”

As for why she’s doing the new light-hearted spy show, Cohan said she was looking forward to “comedy and happier fare” in her career after many seasons on the hit zombie show, but stressed that Maggie’s story on The Walking Dead was not over.

“My Walking Dead story is open, it’s not finished,” Cohan said. “You don’t break up with someone and forget about them and delete them from your life, no, things transition into different places.”

Despite her statement, Cohan is only committed to a handful of episodes in Season Nine, which is interesting considering how last season’s finale positioned Maggie and Daryl to come into conflict with Rick due to his decision to keep Negan alive after the All Out War storyline.

With Andrew Lincoln leaving the series, there’s also a question of how the show will change with the possible departure of two major characters.

Lincoln finally opened up about his exit last week at San Diego Comic-Con, stopping by the ComicBook.com studio to speak with Brandon Davis about ending his long tenure on the series.

“My relationship with this part is far from over,” Lincoln said. “I’m not gonna say anything more than that but I will say, ‘Watch this season.’”

We’ll learn more about Rick Grimes‘ fate and the potential exit of Maggie Rhee when The Walking Dead returns to AMC for Season Nine on October 7th.

[h/t Variety]