Much like the walkers that hunger for its characters, The Walking Dead is relentless. The sprawling franchise continues on, despite its steadily declining viewership and the exit of some of its most prominent cast members. These include leading man Andrew Lincoln, who played small-town sheriff turned ruthless leader Rick Grimes. On the same day his last episode aired, it was announced on after-show The Talking Dead that Lincoln would be returning for a trilogy spin-off.

The last time fans saw Rick Grimes was in season 9, episode 5 “What Comes After”, where he was whisked into a helicopter and saved from imminent death. Despite his departure, season 9 and season 10 have seen a huge improvement in the quality of the show, and have been praised for recapturing its original raw tone.

The Walking Dead content chief officer Scott Gimple will be penning the script and told EW that the movies will offer “big, epic entertainments”. With a big theatrical release already confirmed, it looks like Rick’s Walking Dead movies could follow in the show’s footsteps and produce some quality content.

Rick’s Walking Dead Movie Release Date

There is no official release date for the first of Rick’s Walking Dead movies as of yet. Production was meant to be beginning this year in time for a 2020 release, but it’s unclear whether that’s still Gimple and AMC’s goal.

Rick’s Walking Dead Movie Story Details

A teaser for Rick’s Walking Dead movie was released at Comic-Con international in July, but it didn’t reveal much fans didn’t already know, other than the trilogy would be released in theaters. Following Andrew Lincoln’s exit from The Walking Dead, the show featured a time jump that moved the story forward 6 years. The movie will explore what happened in that time and why Rick hasn’t come home to his family. Speaking to THR, Gimple said “It is about who [Rick] is and who he’s going to be — and certainly how he deals with the situation he’s in. We know Rick Grimes, he would want to be home”. An AMC press release also confirmed the movie would be set in “a new corner of the zombie apocalypse”, opening up the chance to see what’s been going on in the rest of the world. It’s likely fans will also find out what the “A” and “B” mystery actually stands for.

Rick’s Walking Dead Movie Cast Details

Other than Andrew Lincoln, the only other Walking Dead cast member that has been confirmed for the movie has been Pollyanna McIntosh, who plays Jadis/Anne on the show. It makes sense, since she was in the helicopter with him. Danai Gurira announced she’d be leavingThe Walking Dead by the end of season 10, but that doesn’t mean she can’t make an appearance in the movies, especially since her leaving announcement only made reference to “the show”. It wouldn’t be surprising if fan favourite Daryl also made an appearance.