‘The Walking Dead’s Steven Yeun Addresses How Andrew Lincoln Leaving Alters the Show

The Walking Dead‘s Glenn actor Steven Yeun has opened up about Andrew Lincoln‘s exit from the series.

By now, it’s no secret that Lincoln will no longer be portraying Rick Grimes on the AMC show following the upcoming Episode 9×05. “Of course,” it will change things, Yeun tells Larry King in the video above. “I think the genetic make up of the show is also in the soul and heart of the individual actors. When you take a piece or move a piece, it alters it but I think the heart of it is still there.”

Yeun, after all, would know a thing or two about original cast members causing major changes to the AMC show. He hasn’t appeared on the show in more than two years, having been killed off in the Season Seven premiere when Jeffrey Dean Morgan’s Negan bashed his Glenn’s head with a bat. Since, fans have longed for his return and the show shifted in a very new direction.

“They know me very well from the Dead,” Yeun said. “I don’t keep up with it as much. I’ve seen a few episodes here and there but I do talk to the cast members.” One such way to to keep in touch with the cast members is at events like Walker Stalker Con, which unites many current and former cast members in Atlanta, Georgia this weekend for meetings with fans.

Yeun has already expressed his lack of interest in returning to The Walking Dead and now he is standing by his character’s brutal sendoff. “In the comic, it’s set up for him to go in that particular way,” Yeun said. “Personally, for me, I just saw no other way to do it but true to the comic. They hit my face with a baseball bat repeatedly ’til it was mush.”

Recalling the violent scene, the actor laughed about it. “They destroyed him to the point where even as an actor, you’re like, ‘He’s done,’” Yeun said.

The Walking Dead airs Sundays at 9 pm ET. Fear the Walking Dead will return for its fifth season in 2019. For complete coverage and insider info all year long, follow @BrandonDavisBD on Twitter and watch ComicBook.com’s After The Dead each Sunday night following new episodes.