Does Rick Die in 'The Walking Dead' Season 9 Premiere?

Tonight's Season 9 premiere of The Walking Dead is sure to be met with mixed emotions from the show's dedicated fan base. On one hand, it's exciting to have the horror series back on the air after a long summer hiatus. Then again, it's difficult to start the season knowing that it will be Andrew Lincoln's last premiere as Rick Grimes.

Of course, this has some people wondering if The Walking Dead could try to flip the script and write Rick off in the very first episode of the season. No one would see that coming, right?

Fortunately that's not going to be the case. Rick has a lot of goodbyes left to give, and his exit will likely set the tone for the rest of the season going forward. Given that the premiere is already going to be explaining the time jump, there won't be nearly enough time to also give Rick a proper exit.

Don't worry, it won't be happening for a few more weeks at least. It's believed that the fifth episode of the season will be Lincoln's last.

No matter when Rick Grimes leaves his Walking Dead family, it will mark the biggest departure the show has made from Robert Kirkman's comics. Nearly 200 issues into the series, Rick remains the central character.

Kirkman doesn't mind the change, however. While speaking at a panel during New York Comic Con this weekend, Kirkman said that he's very open about change on the show.

"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, they'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 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!