Norman Reedus Warns ‘The Walking Dead’ To Be Careful After Carl

Norman Reedus doesn’t sound thrilled about Chandler Riggs’ departure from The Walking Dead and now finds himself asking, “Who’s left?”

The actor who has played Daryl Dixon on the AMC zombie drama since its first season opened up about Riggs’ sudden exit while chatting with EW. “The people that started this show, to me, are the heart of the show,” Reedus said. “When you lose those key members, it’s such a big blow to the show, and to the fans, and to us that are there. Who’s left? There’s only a few of us left out of all those people. If you wanted to turn it into a totally different show, you get rid of those people. But if you want to hold on to what made the show special, you’ve got to be very careful what you do with those people.”

Reedus, one of what will soon be only four Season One cast members remaining, sounds as though he wants to keep the show recognizable for its original fans. He, Melissa McBride, Andrew Lincoln, and Lennie James will be the only remaing original cast members remaining a part of the series beyond Riggs’ final episode of February 25, 2018, with James already set to depart for the sibling series after Season Eight.

Such changes have left other cast members feeling a bit uneasy, as well.

“There’s only me left in the top 10 [of the call sheet],” Rick actor Andrew Lincoln said in an exclusive interview with ComicBook.com. “Norman and Melissa and Danai and LC, they’re all in the twenties…This job is, as I said before, glorious and unique. I wouldn’t trade it for the world. The stinger is the fact that I seem to be the guy left on the pier waving people away. That’s powerful.”

“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,” Lincoln said. “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.