Chandler Riggs Says “Holy Sh*t” to Major Walking Dead Death

Former Walking Dead star Chandler Riggs was surprised to learn the comic book in its most recent issue killed off Rick Grimes, who was gunned down in bed before his reanimated walker form was put down by son Carl.

In a tweet, the Carl Grimes actor wrote, "u actually did it holy sh-t. timing was rock solid though & it's so sick seeing carl as the new protagonist."

u actually did it holy shit

timing was rock solid though & it's so sick seeing carl as the new protagonist

— chandler riggs (@chandlerriggs) June 6, 2019

Riggs, whose Carl was killed off the television show midway through Season 8 in a major departure from the comic book, previously said it would have been "really interesting" to explore Carl without Rick after star Andrew Lincoln permanently exited the show.

"It's kind of hard to know what Carl would be like after a six-year time jump. I think he definitely would take on this, if Rick wasn't in the picture anymore, I think Carl would definitely take on this, I guess, just the older brother role, and really take care of [his siblings], and do what he's been doing — or do what he was doing — for the years that he spent with Judith," Riggs said at San Jose Fan Fest in December when asked what Carl's Walking Dead role might have looked like with his dad gone.

"I honestly don't really know what he'd be like, but it would have been really interesting to see."

Though Lincoln's Rick will live on in an offshoot movie franchise under the stewardship of Walking Dead chief content officer Scott Gimple and creator Robert Kirkman, Riggs lamented not being able to fulfill Carl's comic book arcs — including a romance with Whisperer Lydia (Cassady McClincy), a storyline that instead played out with Henry (Matt Lintz).

"I was actually really excited for the rest of Carl's story arcs," Riggs admitted during an Orlando convention in September. "But it will be interesting to see what they fill that gap with."