The Walking Dead star Norman Reedus signed a new movie deal with STX Films ahead of the hit AMC show’s Comic-Con panel Friday.
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Reedus and the STX Entertainment unit signed a deal for Reedus to star in and produce a genre feature, reports Deadline. The deal is similar in line to the pacts STX signed with Jason Statham and Dave Bautista, and the final project is expected to appeal to Reedus’ built-up fan base from The Walking Dead.
“Norman has steadily built up a devoted fan following across movies and television with memorable performances,” STX Films chief Adam Fogelson told Deadline. “STX is thrilled to collaborate with Norman on this new film project that we are custom-creating for him and with him and that will be sure to excite his tremendous fan base.”
Reedus is now filming the ninth season of The Walking Dead, which will see a trailer debut during Comic-Con. He recently signed a new contract with AMC to expand his Darryl Dixon role, especially since Andrew Lincoln is leaving. Reedus will also film the third season of his biker travelogue series RIDE for AMC later this year.
Reedus and STX already have a relationship, since he signed on to star in The Limit, a virtual reality series co-starring Michelle Rodriquez and directed by Robert Rodriguez.
The new STX film could be Reedus’ first big screen appearance since he starred in 2016’s Triple 9 with Casey Affleck, Anthony Mackie, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Woody Harrelson and Gal Gadot.
The ninth season is expected to test the relationship between Lincoln’s Rick Grimes and Daryl after Rick decided against killing Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan). Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman also confirmed this is Lincoln’s last season, leaving Reedus and Melissa McBride as the longest-tenured stars.
“He cares about the fans,” Kirkman said of Lincoln’s plans to leave in an interview with Kevin Smith. “He cares about the show deeply; he wants to do something special on the way out; we got something amazing planned; I wouldn’t want to spoil anything, but anybody who’s been a fan of his journey, who loves Rick Grimes, who loves the world of The Walking Dead: You’re going to want to see what we do.”
The Walking Dead will be back on AMC this fall, after Fear the Walking Dead wraps up its fourth season on Aug. 12.