To call Andrew Lincoln the face of The Walking Dead would be an understatement. The man who gave us the legend that is Rick Grimes has been synonymous with that character for the better part of two decades, despite the fact that he left the franchise as a full-time star almost 10 years ago. But it's clear that audiences still love the character.
He did make a couple of brief returns to the TWD Universe over the past few years, with one taking place in the series finale of The Walking Dead while another saw him and Danai Gurira front spinoff series The Ones Who Live for six episodes - which seemingly completed his arc. And yet, it doesn't feel like he's fully done, especially as Lincoln himself has even teased a return.
Now, a more recent update may have set that in motion.
The end of Coldwater may lead to Andrew Lincoln's TWD return
As we recently covered, ITV is not proceeding with a second season of Coldwater. The six-part drama aired on the channel last year and starred Andrew Lincoln in the main role. It subsequently aired on Showtime in the US, with the star's devoted Stateside audience tuning in to see him appear in his first major television role since reprising Rick Grimes in TWD spinoff The Ones Who Live.
Although Coldwater received mixed reviews from critics, it did generate a lot of buzz among viewers, so there are some understandably surprised by this announcement (especially as the series premiere was watched by 3.9 million viewers on the night). But ITV confirmed that it wouldn't return, releasing a statement via Digital Spy that has confirmed that "there are no plans for a further series".
The cancellation of an ongoing TV series is obviously a sad thing, especially when it feels like there are more stories that could be told from that particular show. Coldwater is no exception and we would have loved to have seen Lincoln take us on another gripping journey as John in the ITV drama. Having him back on UK TV screens was also a major treat for fans over there.
That said, this might have opened up the door for the star's return to the Walking Dead franchise. Lincoln previously confirmed that there were discussions about him returning to the role of Rick Grimes but it was - at that point in time - unclear as to whether it would be for another stint (like The Ones Who Live) or another cameo (like the series finale of the original show). Both were possible, but only one would have been doable if he had returned for a second season of Coldwater.
Right now, fans are speculating as to whether Rick might appear in the series finale of spinoff Daryl Dixon. With the character's close friends Daryl and Carol currently in Europe, they don't know that Rick has returned to Alexandria after years of uncertainty, so a reunion between them all feels inevitable. Will it take place in the series finale? Possibly, as the fourth and final season of that show was filming when Lincoln made those comments about a potential return.
It's also worth noting, however, that there have long-been rumors of a potential Avengers: Endgame-style crossover that would bring the cast and characters from spinoffs Daryl Dixon, Dead City, and indeed The Ones Who Live back together again for one last hurrah - essentially a The Walking Dead season 12 to finish the current TWD story once and for all. Various producers and creatives on the team behind AMC's juggernaut hit have confirmed that there have been discussions about doing that someday.
With Daryl Dixon coming to an end - and Dead City's future beyond season 3 unclear - that day might be approaching. If - or when - it does, Lincoln may well need a clear schedule. 6-8 episodes of television - of which he would likely be the lead - would require an extensive filming schedule and while other potential commitments would no doubt work around his return to the TWD Universe, it is possible that Coldwater's unfortunate cancellation has prevented that from needing to happen.
It is certainly a shame as Coldwater had a lot of potential and Lincoln was captivating in his performance as John, so it would have been really interesting to see what a second season would have even attempted to do. The silver lining here, however, is that it potentially opens up the door to a more significant Rick Grimes return in the near-future if AMC, Walking Dead CCO Scott M. Gimple, Lincoln himself and the rest of the TWD Universe stars all really want to make it happen.
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