Warning: Major Spoilers Below For The Walking Dead's Series FinaleDespite Andrew Lincoln's vow to never return to the series, his surprise cameo in the finale managed to just about avoid breaking it. Lincoln's Rick Grimes was the main protagonist of for the first eight seasons, with the show following his character's evolution in the post-apocalyptic world. Lincoln eventually left following season 8 to spend more time with his family. He also felt that with the death of his character's son Carl (Chandler Riggs), much of Rick's purpose on the show had been fulfilled.
Despite fears episode, it was revealed the gravely wounded character was instead rescued by the CRM and taken to some mysterious location. After exiting following "What Comes After," Lincoln told the "." On the surface, his appearance in series finale "Rest in Peace" - brief as it is - seems to break that vow. However, considering his cameo is basically a teaser trailer for the upcoming Rick and Michonne spin-off series and the character didn't feature in the finale's main action, Lincoln's original vow holds true.
has been laying breadcrumbs for Rick's return for years, so if the main series had ended without addressing this dangling thread in some form, it would have disappointed many viewers. "Rest in Peace's" revealed how the former dumped his belongings on Bloodsworth Island that Michonne later recovered in season 10. This is what set Danai Gurira's Michonne on her quest to find Rick, but the teaser itself reveals Rick had escaped from the CRM after fleeing for some unknown reason. In the final moments, he's recaptured by a CRM helicopter, who wants him alive, again for undisclosed reasons.
Rick and Michonne's reunion was originally supposed to take place over the course of three movies, but this was later scaled back to a miniseries. The timeline of Rick's scenes is fuzzy, as it's possible many years passed between him throwing his belongings into that boat before Michonne found them. Their spin-off has been teased as something of an epic love story, and part of the six-episode show will involve Michonne's quest to find Rick. also set up two further offshoots with the series and , which will follow Maggie (Laurie Cohan) and Negan (Jefferey Dean Morgan).
The sting of Rick leaving was eased somewhat when the movie trilogy was confirmed. Over time, development news on those movies became noticeably vague. The Covid-19 pandemic almost certainly played a part in affecting those plans, but the growing gap between Lincoln's exit and the lack of updates saw anticipation for the solo Rick movies wither. The move to a high-profile event miniseries for the Rick and Michonne reunion just made sense, as it could provide a proper epilogue to their journey without the risks involved with making three films.
Following 11 seasons of - not to mention several spinoffs like - the saga has built up a lot of backstory. One might have been a hard sell to complete newcomers to the franchise, so a trilogy would have been a major uphill struggle. That's not to say a movie couldn't happen someday, but despite featuring the show's most iconic characters, a Rick Grimes movie trilogy would have been the wrong jumping off point for a move to the big screen.
