‘The Walking Dead’ “Will Not Suffer” After Rick Grimes Loss

The Walking Dead is very much alive despite the imminent exit of Rick Grimes star Andrew Lincoln, promises longtime director and executive producer Greg Nicotero.

"People have a gut reaction," he told EW. "And their gut reaction is, 'I don't know how I feel about that. I don't know if I want to watch the show if Rick Grimes isn't on it anymore.'"

Early news of the actor's departure prompted some fans to threaten to stop watching once Lincoln had left the show, well before it was learned Lincoln chose to step away from the role in favor of rejoining his family overseas.

Despite the biggest-ever shakeup to rattle The Walking Dead, Nicotero is clear the series is bigger than any one character — even Rick Grimes.

"The thing I can really, honestly say with 100 percent confidence is the show will not suffer because of the loss of Rick Grimes," Nicotero said.

"He's a great character, he's an amazing actor, but I just I feel that as this show evolves. I just really don't want people to feel that this departure signals the end of the show, because we have a tremendous amount of story to tell."

While Rick and his journey has been the focal point of the series in its first chapter, the story of The Walking Dead has long been shared by veterans Daryl (Norman Reedus), Carol (Melissa McBride), and Michonne (Danai Gurira), who will continue to step up after the focus has shifted away from the out-of-the-picture Rick Grimes.

"Rick has been instrumental in telling a good portion of that story," he said.

"But let's be honest: We've had a lot of story that was told by Carol, we had a lot of story that was told by Glenn and Maggie, we had a lot of story that was told by Daryl, and Shane, and Lori. I feel very strongly that we still have a tremendous amount of story to tell with the great characters that we still have."

The cast and crew have had "a f—ing blast this year," Nicotero said, despite major changes for The Walking Dead behind and in front of the camera, including both the looming Rick Grimes shakeup and the handing over of keys from Scott Gimple to new showrunner Angela Kang.

"And it's probably the most fun I've had on the show in the last couple years because I feel that collaborative nature of us really buckling in and fighting to make sure that we're doing tribute to Andy's time here and everybody's commitment," he added.

"Norman and I talk on the phone twice a f—ing day about how we can preserve the show, and how we can maintain the quality that both he and I want, because we've been doing this so long. We've been here nine f—ing years, man. Nobody's phoning it in, you know?"

"I've been on the show since day one. Andy and I have been tremendous collaborators, and great, great friends over the last couple years. We kind of grew into who we are," Nicotero said.

"Andy grew into Rick Grimes, and I sort of grew into the director that I am, and we did it together. It still really hasn't hit me, to be honest. There were a couple of days on set when we would just be looking at each other and there was so much that neither of us wanted to say because there's so much history between us. I love the guy, I respect him, and I know exactly why he's doing what he's doing."

Lincoln himself agrees the show will be steadfast and thrive despite losing Rick Grimes, telling EW, "There's something beautiful in the original DNA of the show in that it is all about change. The show will live on and it will continue to be great."

The Walking Dead has since given itself an out and allowed for the possibility of Rick Grimes' survival, which could leave the door open for Lincoln's return to the Walking Dead universe at a later date.

Lincoln's last episode airs Sunday at 9/8c on AMC.