The Walking Dead Star Expects Action, Adventure and New Walkers in Rick Grimes Movie

The Walking Dead star Pollyanna McIntosh, whose Jadis-slash-Anne next returns alongside Andrew Lincoln in the franchise’s first movie, expects action, adventure, twists and new walkers when audiences learn what happened to the vanished Rick Grimes. Anne was last seen fishing a gravely wounded Rick out of a river after he nearly perished in a bridge explosion when halting a walker horde, whisking him away aboard a helicopter belonging to a shadowy organization known only as CRM. The film’s first teaser trailer, released during San Diego Comic-Con in July, appeared to hint Rick has been relocated to Philadelphia, possibly the site of one of three major civilizations represented by CRM’s three-circle symbol.

“I am expecting a lot of action and adventure, twists, as per usual. I’m sure there will be new walkers to see, because this is in a different place,” McIntosh told Red Carpet News TV. “And as we’ve seen with Jadis before, she had these weaponized walkers unlike any we’ve seen before, so I’m excited to see what [TWD special effects makeup artist Greg] Nicotero comes up with in that regard and these new versions of walkers that we’ll be able to see.”

“And to get Rick back,” she added. “I really want to see Rick again, so I’m excited about that.”

Fans can also expect a different kind of experience when watching these first Walking Dead movies on the big screen, made possible through a partnership with Universal Pictures.

“Walking Dead‘s always been very filmic, obviously it’s shot on film, which is highly unusual these days. I think that the experience of being in a cinema with a large group of people watching it is what’s most exciting to me,” McIntosh said. “Because not only do you get a better visual experience in the cinema, but also, my experience with the fans is that they really love the fan family element of the show and that community, and finding your own community. And so the fans all being in the cinema, that’s just very exciting.”

Creator Robert Kirkman, said to be heavily involved with the project, previously told ComicBook.com the movies would offer “more spectacle” than the television show, now airing its tenth season on AMC.

TWD chief content officer Scott Gimple, who pens the feature, has described this planned movie trilogy as “big, epic entertainments” intended to appeal to a broad audience.

“In doing it, that’s sort of the prime directive, not to get into Star Trek… you have to make it worth it for [audiences] to go,” Gimple told The Hollywood Reporter. “So you have to give them complete entertainment that uses that giant screen, but also hits them in the heart so that you walk out of that theater with a smile on your face, maybe your heart racing a little bit.”

The movies will play to longtime fans of the television show but will not exclude newcomers unfamiliar with TWD Universe.

“We have to honor the fans of the show, absolutely, but I don’t think that’s mutually exclusive to letting other people in. And if this is the very first Walking Dead thing they’ve ever seen, they’ll enjoy it,” Gimple said. “They’ll be like, ‘Whoa, that was a crazy zombie movie. Is there other Walking Dead stuff? I think I’ve heard that before.’ I mean, that is the idea. I think [George A.] Romero did that. I think we’ve set up things for an amazing story that people will get a certain satisfaction from, having had the relationship a long time to the story.”

AMC and Universal Pictures have yet to announce a release schedule for TWD movies. New episodes of The Walking Dead Season 10 premiere Sundays at 9/8c on AMC. For more TWD intel, follow the author @CameronBonomolo on Twitter.