Tales of the Walking Dead Actor Debunks Young Rick Grimes Theory

By Cameron Bonomolo

Rick Grimes will return to the Walking Dead Universe, but not on Tales of the Walking Dead. Premiering August 14, the episodic anthology series takes place throughout the timeline of the Walker Apocalypse, with self-contained episodes revisiting Atlanta at the onset of the outbreak in 2010 and a zombie-plagued Dead Sector years after the collapse of civilization. Along with a cast of Walking Dead fresh meat playing new characters, Tales revisits the origins of familiar characters — characters like Dee (Samantha Morton), the future Alpha of the Whisperers, in a prequel to Morton's time on The Walking Dead.

Some have theorized that actor Eric Tiede is portraying a younger version of Andrew Lincoln's Rick in an episode of Tales of the Walking Dead, set years before a comatose Rick wakes up amid the Walker Apocalypse. But on Twitter, Tiede debunked that theory, tweeting: 

"To the amazing fan who sent this — I love you, but there's only one Rick Grimes & that's Andrew Lincoln," Tiede wrote of an image comparing him to Lincoln's grizzled Rick. "So despite the intriguing theory, I am not playing a younger version of Rick in #TalesOfTWD."

Tiede added: "Sorry to burst the bubble, but hey, maybe he's got a cousin out there somewhere." (In the comics, Rick has a younger brother who is stranded overseas in the early days of the outbreak.) 

In a previous tweet, Tiede confirmed he's playing a new character in the expanding universe around The Walking Dead. As for Lincoln, he joined Michonne actress Danai Gurira on stage at San Diego Comic-Con's Hall H to announce the two Walking Dead stars will reunite in a new series set to premiere in 2023 on AMC+. 

The announced cast of Tales includes Terry Crews (Brooklyn Nine-Nine) as Joe, Olivia Munn (The Newsroom) as Evie, Parker Posey (Lost In Space) as Blair, Jillian Bell (Rough Night) as Gina, Anthony Edwards (ER) as Dr. Everett, Poppy Liu (Hacks) as Amy, Daniella Pineda (Cowboy Bebop) as Idalia, Danny Ramirez (Top Gun: Maverick) as Eric, and Jessie T. Usher (The Boys) as Davon, with Loan Chabanol (Fading Gigolo) and Embeth Davidtz (Ray Donovan) appearing in undisclosed roles.

AMC describes the anthology spinoff: "The stakes are high in each story, pushing new, indelible characters with relentless, life-threatening choices and situations as we get to see the apocalypse through different eyes, discovering more worlds, mythos, and mysteries of the Walking Dead."

The series premiere of Tales of the Walking Dead is Sunday, August 14 on AMC; an exclusive two-episode premiere will stream that same night on AMC+. Subsequent episodes will stream one week early beginning August 21.

Follow @CameronBonomolo and @NewsOfTheDead on Twitter for TWD Universe coverage all season long.

0comments
Start the Conversation

of