‘The Walking Dead’: Laurie Holden Hints There Was Originally A Different Fate For Andrea

SPOILER ALERT: This article discusses both the TV and comic book versions of The Walking Dead. Please proceed with caution if you wish to avoid spoilers.

Fans of Andrea in AMC’s The Walking Dead have been short-changed, according to the actress who played her in the TV series. It seems Andrea should have been living the dream still, but instead her character was killed off in Season 3.

Since The Walking Dead began on AMC, the show has been compared to the comic book series it is based on. While some plots and characters change and evolve, others stay the same. Some characters who died in the comics are still alive in the show and vice versa. Comic book deaths have even been swapped out with other character deaths on the show as required. As recently as Season 6 of The Walking Dead saw Denise Cloyd (Merritt Wever) meet the same fate as Abraham did in the comics.

However, Laurie Holden recently attended Walker Stalker Con and apparently spilled the beans on what should have happened to her character in the TV version of The Walking Dead, according to an article by FanFest. The article claims Laurie Holden said her character, Andrea, should have been around for eight seasons since that is the contract she signed with AMC. However, when Glen Mazzara became showrunner, it seems her time was cut short.

“Well I had an 8 year deal, I was supposed to be there until the end. I was supposed to end up with Rick. I was supposed to save Woodbury on a horse, and I was buying a house in Atlanta. I got the call at 10 o’ clock the night before, while I was shooting, from the show runner who is no longer a part of The Walking Dead, saying that they couldn’t write the episode and that he was killing my character. So we all got the script everybody on the set was sobbing. I felt like I got shot. None of it was supposed to happen the way it did.”

What Laurie says seems to indicate her departure was a sudden event by stating the script was changed overnight. As for when Glen Mazzara left The Walking Dead, it was not long after Andrea was killed off in Season 3. According to Fansided, Andrea’s last episode was also the last episode with Mazzara at the helm. One of the reasons cited for Mazzara leaving the show according to ScreenRant was the fact Season 3 ran into production delays, something Holden suggests in the above statement. Nowadays on The Walking Dead, with Scott Gimple at the helm, scripts — or at least the season’s overall arc — are set well in advance of filming.

Rumors of discord under the various showrunners have been heard before. Also circulating during this time were rumors that once Frank Darabont left The Walking Dead, AMC were determined to get rid of all his original casting choices. Laurie Holden was certainly one of Darabont’s original choices. However, so was Melissa McBride, who plays the much-loved Carol Peletier.

Interesting also to note is the length of the contract Laurie Holden signed with AMC. According to what is known as the De Havilland Law, contracts between studios and actors can only last seven years. If AMC were signing eight-year contracts with the cast of The Walking Dead, then they were breaking the law. Considering many of the original cast signed seven-year contracts with AMC, it is likely this fact was either a misprint on behalf of FanFest or an error by Laurie Holden. Also, signing a long-term contract with a network is no guarantee the actor will remain employed for the entire time of the contract; it is more to ensure the network has access to an actor during that time. Usually there will be a clause within the contract stipulating something to the effect that this is the longest the actor can remain with the network before a new contract has to be written. Also usually included is a clause so the network can kill off their character before the end of the contract if required.

Were you sad to see Andrea leave The Walking Dead? Do you think she should have stayed and hooked up with Rick Grimes? Let us know your thoughts by commenting below!

As yet, AMC has not confirmed the Season 7 premiere date for The Walking Dead, although it is anticipated to be sometime in October of this year after the finale of Season 2 of its companion program, Fear The Walking Dead. Fans will also be able to get their Walking Dead fix at San Diego Comic Con later this month. You can check out the details for that event here.

[Image via AMC]