Rick Grimes remains The Walking Dead‘s most famous character, and his spinoff show is sure to make up for his two-season absence from the main series. Following Andrew Lincoln’s Walking Dead exit in season 9, it was announced that the actor would return for a Rick Grimes movie. Consequently, the Walking Dead movie was scrapped in favor of a spinoff miniseries. The franchise has already expanded with Fear the Walking Dead and The Walking Dead: World Beyond, and there are more spinoffs to come following the main series finale. These shows have crossover appeal, with Jadis being the main antagonist in World Beyond season 2 having an intriguing significance for the Rick Grimes show.
While Michonne and the other residents of Alexandria always hoped that Rick Grimes survived the bridge explosion in The Walking Dead season 9, Jadis was the only one who knew he was still alive, as he was last seen being taken away by a mysterious helicopter that she had called for. During The Walking Dead series finale, Michonne is seen out on her own still in search of Rick while Rick also appears in the final episode being prompted to surrender by a CRM helicopter over a loudspeaker. This sets up The Walking Dead spinoff adventure which will inevitably see Rick still fighting to survive in the post-apocalyptic world while teasing an epic reunion with Michonne.
The Rick And Michonne Spinoff: Latest News
The Walking Dead spinoff with Rick and Michonne continues to move along with some new casting news. Lesley-Ann Brandt has joined the Walking Dead spinoff. Interestingly, though her casting didn’t reveal any details about her character, her name is revealed to be Pearl Thorne. This is the first bit of casting news to come out of the show other than Andrew Lincoln and Danai Gurira returning as Rick and Michonne. It will be interesting to see if Brandt will be playing an ally or enemy to the two protagonists.
The Rick Grimes Movies Are Now A Show
In 2018, after Andrew Lincoln’s exit from the show, AMC announced that there were plans to make a Walking Dead movie trilogy centered on Rick Grimes to properly explain what happened to the character after he was carted off by a Civic Republic Military (CRM) helicopter. After little to no news surrounding the Rick Grimes movie release, it was revealed at the 2022 San Diego Comic-Con that the movie trilogy would now be a six-part miniseries focusing on Rick and Michonne. The Walking Dead series finale set up the Rick Grimes show by revealing that Michonne is on the hunt for her lost love, though it’s yet unclear how the two will be reunited.
Changing the Walking Dead movie into a show was the right call by AMC, as the landscape of the entertainment industry has changed drastically. Between streaming services reaching the height of their popularity and the COVID-19 pandemic wiping out theatrical releases, the way people consume media has shifted immensely over the last few years. Disney led the way during the pandemic, releasing many of its projects via Disney+ rather than in theaters, and other studios took notice. In addition, a miniseries format allows The Walking Dead to properly explore Rick’s journey after season 9 without the time constraints given by feature films. Though many fans were expecting a Rick Grimes movie, a show is the better choice.
The Walking Dead Rick Grimes Spinoff: Release Date
The Walking Dead Rick Grimes spinoff does not yet have a release date, but AMC promises that it will air sometime in 2024. Producer Scott Gimple publicly said that the writing team took their time on the show because they want to do Rick Grimes justice. Writing the series will have naturally become more difficult since Rick’s absence because characters who could be integral to the plot had continued storylines in other shows, like Jadis in The Walking Dead: World Beyond. It seems as though another spinoff, The Walking Dead: Dead City, will beat the Rick Grime spinoff to the small screen though neither has a confirmed release date yet.
The Walking Dead Rick Grimes Spinoff: Cast
When it was announced as The Walking Dead movie, Andrew Lincoln was revealed to be back as Rick Grimes after leaving the original show shortly before. Now that it is confirmed as a 6-episode show, the Rick Grimes spinoff has expanded to include Danai Gurira’s Michonne. She was last seen in The Walking Dead series finale promising to search for her lost partner. The only other cast member who has been confirmed at this point is Lesley-Ann Brandt who played Mazikeen in Lucifer.
Given that the spinoff is being planned as a six-part limited series, it would make sense that Rick reunites with his old family and friends by its end, if not sooner. Several of the key characters from the original series will be getting their own spinoff show, including Maggie (Lauren Cohan) and Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) who will be seen in The Walking Dead: Dead City. Daryl (Normal Reedus) will also lead his own spinoff series, but as he also set out in The Walking Dead series finale to find Rick, it wouldn’t be surprising if he succeeded.
The Walking Dead Rick Grimes Spinoff: Story
While The Walking Dead movie was initially conceived as a story about Rick, the new spinoff series has been described as an epic love story between Rick and Michonne. The synopsis promises a major reunion between the two while they once again find themselves surrounded by danger and enemies beyond the ever-present walkers. Teases of the CRM fighting a war against the dead which drags Rick and Michonne into it make it clear who the villains of the story will be.
The Walking Dead finale also seems to reveal that he has already escaped CRM only to be recaptured. This confirms that whatever new life he was brought to when he was flown away has not been to his liking. The helicopter pilot who speaks to Rick over the loudspeaker in Rick’s final scene of The Walking Dead finale also hints at another human villain on the horizon as the pilot reminds Rick, “It’s like he told you, there’s no escape for the living.” Who “he” is remains to be seen.
The Walking Dead Rick Grimes Spinoff: Trailer
As filming for the Walking Dead spinoff has only just begun and the release date is at least a year away, there will not be any trailer released soon. However, AMC’s history can give a brief insight into when the trailer might release. For past shows like Better Call Saul and the final season of The Walking Dead, a trailer only arrived about a month or so before premiering so the trailer for this spin-off could have a similar timeframe.