She may not be Team Rick, but Maggie will be back to The Walking Dead. Lauren Cohan confirmed the news on Tuesday, April 24, while at CinemaCon in Las Vegas. “I’m going back,” she told Entertainment Weekly. “There’s a lot more Maggie story to tell … You know we’re not allowed to tell you anything, but it’s good.”
Cohan, 36, did not reveal if she’ll be returning as a series regular, something fans have been wondering since February when she fielded multiple pilot offers and ultimately booked the lead on ABC’s action-drama Whiskey Cavalier, opposite Scott Foley. The actress joined the AMC zombie drama in season 2 and her contract expired at the end of season 8. She was reportedly holding out re-signing and was negotiating for more money. Costar Khary Payton shared a photo on Instagram of Cohan in March, while she was in the middle of negotiations and captioned it “Pay the woman.”
The Walking Dead begins filming next week in Senoia, Georgia, and usually wraps in December. Cohan’s ABC drama has not been picked up to series, but even if it does, Cohan could still find time to film both shows.
Season 8 of The Walking Dead came to a close on April 15 with an action-packed episode. After Rick (Andrew Lincoln) slit Negan’s (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) throat, he ordered the group to keep him alive, much to Maggie’s dismay. She was so angry, in fact, that the episode ended with her joining forces with Jesus (Tom Payne) and Daryl (Norman Reedus), plotting to bring down Rick.
“No one is getting in front of Maggie to stop her. That’s where there is danger and potential conflict,” outgoing showrunner Scott Gimple told TVLine after the finale. “What Maggie has said to Daryl and Jesus was, ‘The Hilltop is going to flourish … I’m going to lead this place and make it work. But after that, I have this little thing on my to-do list, and it has to do with Negan.’ It’s about Negan.”
