Andrew Lincoln Says It Doesn't Look Good For Rick On 'The Walking Dead'

Throughout its eight seasons, The Walking Dead has managed to spare Rick Grimes from suffering any [...]

By Patrick Cavanaugh

Throughout its eight seasons, The Walking Dead has managed to spare Rick Grimes from suffering any fatal injuries, yet a brief scene in last night's midseason premiere could be hinting at the protagonist's demise. When pressed for details, star Andrew Lincoln might have stayed vague about his character's future, but teased that, based on that scene, the character could be in more trouble than we would have thought possible.

"I can't really say anything about that, apart from it doesn't look good, does it?" Lincoln confessed to The Hollywood Reporter about a scene which depicted Rick leaning on a tree, pale and bleeding from the abdomen.

The series has previously jumped forward in time, while also offering "visions" of a possible outcome of events, with audiences left to wonder if that scene depicted a certain fate or one path the character might follow.

"Now that you've seen the episode, you realize that so much of what was seen in the season eight premiere was a premonition — or a vision — of Carl's hopes or ideas for the future," Lincoln pointed out. "If you subtract that from the first episode [of season eight], you're left with the scene under the tree."

There are rumors that the actor will be back for Season 9, yet he didn't want that focus on the future to dictate how people view the final eight episodes of this season.

"I wouldn't want to give too much away because the back eight is interesting and an emotional trajectory for Rick, Michonne and the family [of survivors]," Lincoln detailed. "There's a lot of twists and turns that we still have to navigate. I don't want to give too much away. Forgive me for not being as candid as I really should but I think it would spoil the experience of getting on the roller coaster."

In theory, were Rick to be killed, would that be the end of the series? The actor isn't so certain.

"I love doing the show; I love the character; I love playing Rick. It's been one of the most satisfying, thrilling and rewarding parts of my career," Lincoln gushed. "But I have always said that I want to finish in the way that we began: big scale,pared down vision of the world. There are lots of unanswered questions and we owe a debt to all of the viewers to answer a few of those. So yes, once they're answered, there is an endgame. I've said it before. There's certainly an endgame in my head. Whether or not that's the same endgame that's in the producers' heads or the people I work with, is another matter. That's open for discussion."

The Walking Dead airs Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on AMC. Fear the Walking Dead will debut its fourth season after The Walking Dead concludes its eighth, at 10 p.m. ET on April 15. For complete coverage and insider info all year long, follow @BrandonDavisBD on Twitter.

Would you still watch the series is Rick Grimes was killed off? Let us know in the comments below!

[H/T The Hollywood Reporter]

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