'The Walking Dead': Andrew Lincoln on Recasting Rick Grimes for Prequel

The Walking Dead star Andrew Lincoln doesn't have a problem with AMC recasting his Rick Grimes [...]

By Brandon Davis

The Walking Dead star Andrew Lincoln doesn't have a problem with AMC recasting his Rick Grimes role with a younger star if they decide to do a dramatic prequel route.

The show started with Rick in a pre-apocalyptic world alongside his police partner Shane Walsh. Quickly, he was injured and in a coma before he woke up to find the world had fallen. The early days were driven by Rick's desire to protect his wife Lori and son Carl, but ahead of their family reunion, Shane and Lori had developed a relationship of their own. With a trio of movies on the horizon, Lincoln has no problem with the network recasting his character for more stories with Rick, Lori, Shane and others prior to the apocalypse.

"Why not? I think the possibilities are endless," Lincoln told THR. "It's an extraordinary environment and landscape, the mythology that Robert Kirkman has created, and I love that. I want to see that with Negan. That's a backstory that I want to see on the mothership; I'm fascinated by it. But [this franchise] can pull people backwards and forwards. I would love to see Michael Rooker [who played Merle] back on screen in a miniseries. With these kinds of shows, we are afforded the opportunity to bounce around narratively and be able to play with time."

Lincoln did get an opportunity to work with Shane actor Jon Bernthal one last time in his final episode of The Walking Dead which aired earlier in November. "It was a bit of a fever dream," Lincoln explained. "To have Bernthal show up with his Punisher hair straight from set felt both like so much time had passed and that no time had lapsed. We fell back into the same relationship. It was amazing to work with him, Sonequa [Martin-Green] and one of my favorite people, Scott Wilson. To have the privilege of working with him yet again was magnificent. There were three times this season that I came home and it just felt like this is why I became an actor. It reminded me of the early seasons and how much fun and how satisfying the whole journey has been."

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.

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