‘The Walking Dead’: Michonne’s Story Will Come To The Forefront As Rick Grimes Exits The Show

While it is now common knowledge that Andrew Lincoln will be leaving AMC’s The Walking Dead in Season 9, what isn’t clear is how Rick Grimes’ departure will affect those around him.

SPOILER ALERT: This article discusses the comic book series on which AMC’s The Walking Dead is based. Please proceed with caution if you wish to avoid comic book spoilers.

As previously reported by the Inquisitr, Andrew Lincoln will bow out of the hit zombie series The Walking Dead in order to spend more time with his family. But on the show, Rick Grimes has his own family. While Judith may not be his biological daughter, Rick has raised her as such. Then, there is his relationship with Michonne (Danai Gurira). Their union has remained strong as they joined forces to battle Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) and his group in Season 8 of The Walking Dead.

There is no news yet on how Rick Grimes will leave The Walking Dead. Regardless of whether he leaves or dies, his departure will impact Michonne in some way. And according to the new showrunner, Angela Kang, Michonne’s story, post-Rick, will be explored as they move forward in The Walking Dead.

According to Comic Book, AMC will place Michonne “at its forefront when Andrew Lincoln and his Rick Grimes character depart the AMC series.”

During a premiere event for Season 9 of The Walking Dead, Angela Kang opened up about Rick and Michonne’s relationship and how Rick’s departure will affect Michonne.

“We’ll see that Rick and Michonne, it’s one of the strongest relationships that we have on the show. They’re raising Judith. They’re so in sync with each other and they support each other’s goals. They’re not doing exactly the same things, Michonne has her own journey she’s going through this season. This being Andy’s last season on the show, we’re going to explore what that does to Michonne.”

When it was suggested that Michonne’s reaction to Rick’s departure in the TV series could mirror that of Rick’s reaction to Andrea’s departure in the comic books, Angela Kang insisted that they are “exploring the different directions that Michonne goes and it may not be exactly the way that you expect.”

In the comic book series, Andrea becomes involved with Rick in much the same way Michonne has with Rick currently in the TV series. While AMC does not always follow the comics closely, there have been certain parts of the TV series that have been altered slightly as TV characters replace comic book characters.

Therefore, to have Michonne react to Rick’s departure in the same way Rick did to Andrea’s death in the comic books seems somewhat logical. However, fans of the TV series will just have to wait until October to find out how Michonne will react to Rick’s departure.

Season 9 of The Walking Dead will premiere on AMC on Sunday, October 7, at 9/8c.