'The Walking Dead': Greg Nicotero Opens Up About Scott Wilson's Final Scene

Prior to Scott Wilson's passing, The Walking Dead director Greg Nicotero showed the actor his final scene with Andrew Lincoln and brought a tear to his eye.

Spoilers for The Walking Dead Episode 9x05 follow. Major spoilers!

The Walking Dead brought back a trio of former stars for Andrew Lincoln's final episode as Rick Grimes. There was serious consideration behind which cast members and characters to bring back, making sure that their appearances served the story. Nicotero appeared on ComicBook.com's live After the Dead show from his Nic & Norman's restaurant in Georgia, where he opened up about showing Wilson his scene as Hershel Greene.

"It's interesting because when we talked about the episode and which characters would come back and which ones wouldn't come back for cameos," Nicotero said. "I had just been at a convention with Scott [Wilson] in Australia and we spent a lot of time together and I just kept pushing for Herschel and I kept saying, You know Scott...'"

Shortly thereafter, Wilson became sick with leukemia, an illness which would get the best of him by the beginning of October 2018. "When I found out that Scott was sick, because none of knew he was sick then, I found out about two weeks later," Nicotero explained. "I went to see him in the hospital in Los Angeles and I took my iPhone with the scene and I showed it to him and he was like, 'That brought tears to my eyes.'"

Wilson, in fact, couldn't get enough of the scene which brought Hershel back. "He was so proud and then I kept trying to leave and he kept making me show it to him over and over again," Nicotero said. "S,o he watched it like six times. He was so excited about it, and it, you know, I really... I'm really just... I don't even know how to express how grateful I was to be able to share that with him."

Proudly, Nicotero stood with Rick Grimes actor Andrew Lincoln for Wilson's return, where he declared this was what it was all about. "He so eloquently preserves and shows everything about what we love about The Walking Dead," Nicotero said. "The day he came to set, when he walked on set and everybody clapped and I pulled Andy aside and I'm like, 'This is what the show is.' Scott Wilson. And that feeling reminded all of us of the heart of the show."

The Walking Dead airs Sundays at 9 pm ET. Fear the Walking Dead will return for its fifth season in 2019. For complete coverage and insider info all year long, follow @BrandonDavisBD on Twitter and watch ComicBook.com's After The Dead each Sunday night following new episodes.