Andrew Lincoln To Star In Three Zombie-Killing TV Movies As AMC Tricks ‘Walking Dead’ Fans Yet Again

**Spoiler alert for last night’s episode of “The Walking Dead”**

If you’ve been an avid watcher of “The Walking Dead” for its entire almost-decade-long run, then you have to know by now that AMC loves to trick viewers. With its latest “Rick Grimes is leaving the show!” promotion, it was clear that the network had something up its sleeve. And boy, oh boy, did AMC have something planned that would not only keep Rick around for years to come but just add yet another wrinkle to the ‘TWD’ universe.

Surprise, surprise! Rick Grimes didn’t die. The actor who plays Rick, Andrew Lincoln, didn’t get written off the show completely. And, guess what? You’ll probably see Rick fighting zombies as early as next year.

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So yet again, “The Walking Dead” played with audiences, teased a huge change to the series, and delivered something completely different than expected, yet somehow more of the same. I’m frustrated and I gave up on the series ages ago.

If you’re like me and bailed on the series well before the recent season, let’s do a quick recap. First, AMC has been teasing the final episodes of Andrew Lincoln for weeks now, making it seem as if Rick Grimes’ days were numbered. Then on the characters penultimate episode, Grimes found himself in what seemed like a deadly conclusion to his arc, as he had a piece of rebar through his midsection. But this is “The Walking Dead,” and viewers have been trained to know that no one is dead unless you see them ripped limb from limb.

Then in last night’s episode, you saw the inevitable — Rick survived what would surely kill a common person and saved the day with one last heroic act. But then, a helicopter comes, takes Rick and viewers don’t know if Rick lives, dies, or what. Huh? Oh yeah, and then yet another time-jump happens, Rick’s baby grows up and carries a sword, and the series hit another reset button, ensuring that AMC has at least a couple more years of stories.

Those hoping to finally put an ending on the story of Rick Grimes, you’re out of luck. Right as the episode ended, AMC revealed that not only did Rick survive the episode, but the network is planning a trilogy (I repeat, a TRILOGY) of TV movies to show the further adventures of Rick Grimes, following the events of this episode.

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“The Walking Dead” chief content officer Scott Gimple told THR, “The story of Rick will go on in films. Right now, we’re working on three but there’s flexibility in that. … Over the next several years, we’re going to be doing specials, new series are quite a possibility, high-quality digital content and then some content that defies description at the moment. We’re going to dig into the past and see old characters. We’re going to introduce new characters and new situations.”

All that talk of Andrew Lincoln saying goodbye to “The Walking Dead” was all misdirection. Not only is he sticking around, but he’s going to star in three (as of now) movies. Obviously, this leaves open the possibility of the actor returning to the mothership series in the future as well.

“Rick Grimes is an amazing character and Andy has done an amazing performance. There were story ideas brewing that, as the years went on, seemed very compatible with continuing to tell the Rick story in another format that would allow him time with his family,” Gimple says.

So, as we approach a decade of “The Walking Dead,” the franchise is most definitely not coming to an end. In fact, the universe is only getting bigger.

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Oh, and let’s not forget about the series that formerly starred Andrew Lincoln. It appears that stars Norman Reedus and Melissa McBride have both signed new deals to keep them around for a while, with “Black Panther” breakout star Danai Gurira in negotiations for a new deal, herself.

Viewers of “The Walking Dead” now have a choice. If you’re a huge fan of what AMC has done with the zombie franchise, then you’re in luck! However, if you’re a reluctant viewer that just wanted to watch the whole series because you’re some sort of completionist, now comes a turning point. Either you, like Lincoln, McBride, Reedus, and Gurira, agree to years of spin-offs and more seasons, or you choose to abandon ship because AMC is clearly going to milk this franchise for all its worth.