Did Rick die in The Walking Dead?

The Walking Dead series aired for 11 seasons and concluded its run in November 2022. Many characters have come and gone throughout the series, but only one is the true leader of The Walking Dead survivors, Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln).

Andrew Lincoln portrayed Rick Grimes and did an outstanding job bringing this character to life. Many knew of his comic book persona and had high hopes for his on-screen likeness. Things were different for Rick in the comics as Judith didn’t survive, and towards the end of the comic, he lost his hand and then his life, to only name a few differences.

The Walking Dead fans missed his presence on the series and have long hoped to see him return.

The Walking Dead season 11 – Rick Grimes

Die-hard fans of the series know that Rick is still alive. In season 9, he blew up a bridge to save his friends and family, which resulted in what appeared to be his death. Although heroic, this act shocked his wife, Michonne (Danai Gurira), Daryl (Norman Reedus), and the rest.

But, something that was only shown to viewers is that Jadis/Anne (Pollyanna McIntosh) saved Rick, and the pair were rescued and taken away in a Civic Republic Military (CRM) helicopter. Later, in the World Beyond spinoff series, it was revealed that Jadis used Rick as her ticket to gain entrance into this community and climbed the ranks to become a high-ranking member of their military.

Sometime later, Michonne would discover that Rick did survive the explosion, and this would see her head off in search of him. She shared the information with their daughter Judith (Cailey Fleming), who kept this secret to herself, fearing that Daryl and others would also leave her and her brother RJ (Antony Azor) to go searching for their father. She would reveal this information in the series finale episode.

The only other person who knew anything about this was Virgil (Kevin Caroll), who hasn’t been seen since early in season 11 when he aided Connie in returning to her family.

Since the announcement that season 11 would be the final of The Walking Dead, fans were sure that Rick would make an appearance, as it only seems fitting that the series began with him and that it should also end with him. They got their wish, and not only did Lincoln appear as Rick in a coda scene, but Gurira also appeared as Michonne.

Ever since Lincoln and Gurira made their departures from the series, there has been talk of their returns. As fan favorites, viewers longed to see more of their story and if/when they have ever been reunited.

At Comic-Con 2022, a surprise announcement was made that the trilogy of movies would be replaced by a series starring Rick and Michonne, with Lincoln and Gurira returning to reprise the roles. The panel attendees in Hall H went wild, as did the rest of the fandom. This series will release sometime in 2024.

Filming for this series will begin in early 2023 in Atlanta, Georgia, and then move production to New Jersey.

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