Chandler Riggs Promises Carl Legacy On ‘The Walking Dead’

Though Chandler Riggs will not be on The Walking Dead beyond its next new episode, the actor promises his Carl Grimes will have a long-lasting legacy.

“He’s definitely leaving behind a really long-lasting legacy,” Riggs told EW, “which was the coolest part about playing those final moments — knowing that Carl was going to have such a lasting impact on the story.”

With eight episodes remaining in The Walking Dead Season 8, the first episode back will see Carl’s end. The bite mark revealed in the midseason eight finale which aired in December of 2017 will claim the apocalypse’s toughest one-eyed child but his story will hardly end there.

“Carl’s presence is felt very deeply throughout the story,” showrunner Scott Gimple said. “It’s a critical aspect of the season.”

The sudden loss of Carl in the apocalypse and Chandler Riggs from the cast as a shockwave for both fans and stars of the AMC show. “This was the hardest… Losing Steven was… the thought of the journey without Steven in the cast was unbearable but this is… I didn’t see it coming,” Rick actor Andrew Lincoln said in an exclusive interview with ComicBook.com. “Scott called me up and said, ‘You’re gonna hate this one. I want to just forewarn you.’ Even then, I was waiting to say, ‘This is a really cool way of telling me that I’m off the show, you know that?’ That’s what I thought he was about to say. He said, ‘It’s the kid.’ I couldn’t even say, ‘No.’ I was silent for a minute. He said, twice, ‘Are you still there?’ I just didn’t see it coming.”

The Walking Dead returns for the second half of its eighth season on February 25, 2018. For complete coverage and insider info all year long, follow @BrandonDavisBD on Twitter.