Walking Dead’s Robert Kirkman gives update on Rick Grimes spinoff

The Walking Dead was built around one man for the most part, and that’s Rick Grimes. The chief protagonist has stepped away from the limelight in recent seasons, but Robert Kirkman has confirmed work is being done to make his spinoff movie “perfect.”

Kirkman, the co-creator of the popular AMC series, has been trying to keep fans updated with the film project ever since it was first announced back in July 2019, where Andrew Lincoln, will of course, be in the starring role.

The funny thing about Rick is that his arch-enemy has somewhat taken his place as the star of the show, Negan, played by Jeffrey Dean Morgan. This shift came to pass at the climax of season nine, when the former fell from an exploding bridge and was taken away from the group.

Six years on, following a time skip in Season 10, the only thing we truly know about Grimes is that he survived the tumble – and has a new movie to film. Probably the best bridge fall in history, really.

Incidentally, AMC have since confirmed that this exact moment will be where the movie kicks off, explaining what happens next to the former cop.

Anyway, with so many questions surrounding the project and rumored delays in filming due to the current global situation, Kirkman has swiftly put any qualms to bed about its development. Apparently, things are running just fine – if not better than expected.

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During Skybound Xpo, where he was joined by show producer David Alpert, Kirkman gave everybody a quick update.

He said: “There’s tons of stuff going on behind the scenes. I don’t want anyone to think that we’re just kind of waiting around for this pandemic to end. I would say that, if anything, the pandemic is going to make a lot of movies better.

Interview segment timestamp is 2:12:07 in the video below. 

“I think the Rick Grimes movie chief among them, just because we’re getting a lot more time to cook this thing and make sure it’s perfect. But when things do quiet down, you guys are going to hear a ton more about this movie.”

This spinoff, as many will know already, will be the first for The Walking Dead.

There’s no way of knowing whether or not it will be a success on the big screen just yet, but with over a decade’s worth of character development on a seasonal platform, and a ton of questions to be asked about backstory, this could present the show with an opportunity to do this kind of thing more often.

After all, we’ve been introduced to some really complex characters over the years. From Michonne being tied up with zombies on a chain, to Negan walking around with a bat named Lucille, these people have big stories to tell and if we know anything about this zombie series, it’s that the fans want to hear every last drop of the details.

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Regarding the project, Alpert also said: “We’re coming along in a big way. We’re just in this particular space where we can’t shoot right now. We’re desperate to get back into production and get everything going. But yeah, we have something really exciting, really unique, really different – can’t wait to get it going – but just have to wait until it’s safe.”

Rick’s spinoff movie doesn’t yet have a release date, but from what these two said during the Skybound Xpo, we’re about to find out sooner rather than later.