'The Walking Dead' Creator on Changing Rick's Death

The Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman won't let Andrew Lincoln's exit from the AMC show change his plans for Rick Grimes' comic book death.

During his panel at New York Comic Con, Kirkman was asked how he balances real life decisions like Lincoln's choice to leave the series with creative decision which would follow the comics in live action. While the writer has long claimed to have an ending to The Walking Dead in mind and promises to kill Rick Grimes, the TV series does not provide any limitations for his comic book series.

"When it comes to the show and stuff like Andrew Lincoln's departure, thankfully a lot of that stuff is handled by the showrunner of the show which is now Angela Kang," Kirkman said. "Scott Gimple still very much involved as the chief content officer...So, thery're working on this stuff and they consult with me and we talk about plans but for the most part I let them run with it. There's always sessions before they start writing each season and they go, 'We're gonna adapt this stuff, we're gonna change this stuff.'"

The topic of Rick's exits from either series are "tricky" for Kirkman to discuss as to avoid spoilers. "I know exactly how Rick Grimes dies in the comic book," Kirkman said. "It's possible that there will be some differences there between the comic and the show. One of those is the death in the comic could happen next issue, could happen ten years from now...I could change my mind."

As it turns out, the only thing which has changed for the writer is the actor voices he sometimes hears while writing their characters' comic book counterparts. "I think the only real thing that's changed because of the show in the comics is I sometimes hear the actors voices," Kirkman said. "Before it was just mush voices in my head. That's, sometimes, just a little jarring where I'm writing Rick and I can hear Andrew Lincoln in my head...It's easy just keeping the story straight because it's so different."

Of course, the human aspect on the TV series makes the deaths of characters a bit more difficult than they already would have been. "I regret killing all of them because I do miss them," Kirkman said. "I would've loved to have tell more stories with Andrea, I would've loved to tell more stories with Glenn, I would've loved to tell more stories with Tyreese. I really enjoyed writing stories with Axel back in the day...It's much easier killing characters in the comic than it is in the show because there isn't a human being attached to the character that can't hang out with you anymore."

The Walking Dead returns for its ninth season on Oct. 7, 2018 at 9 pm ET. Fear the Walking Dead will return in 2019 for its fifth season. For more updates and insider info all year long, follow @BrandonDavisBD on Twitter!