Like Rick Grimes, Andrew Lincoln is a man with a plan. During The Walking Dead‘s panel at PaleyFest in Hollywood on Friday, March 17, the actor joined the AMC show’s cast and showrunners to discuss the series — and his character’s potential demise.
When a fan asked how Lincoln how he envisioned Rick’s final scene, the star wasted no time. “I’m gonna say this now: This is how I want Rick to die,” Lincoln told fans. After all, he has had seven seasons to think about it.
An animated Lincoln worked the crowd and cracked jokes, making fans laugh and cheer throughout his thorough description. “We’re going through the desert somewhere, and I jump off the bus. So I jump in a very heroic act — Rick jumps off and calls ‘Caaaarl,’” the 43-year-old said. “Maybe that’s the last thing I say.”
But it didn’t end there. “I jump off, and I’m, like, kung-fu kicking. I have to earn my action figure, right?” he quipped. “I’ve gotten bit, ‘Ow!’ Doesn’t matter — ‘Keep going!’” And this is when the death part kicked in.
“Then I’m dying, on my own. Just waiting to die. I patch up and a day passes. I’m a survivalist. But I don’t actually die,” he reassured fans. Then came the brilliant twist: “The final shot is, ‘Holy s–t! Maybe I’m the cure!’” Lincoln said, driving the audience into a roar.
“Zombies coming, Rick gets up, follows the tracks to go see ‘Caaaarl’ walking — the herd comes towards him, and they separate,” he said. “He walks through. Boom.” End scene.
Just as Lincoln earned a well-deserved round of applause from the audience, his costar Josh McDermitt (Eugene Porter) chimed in with: “And then Eugene comes in a dune buggy and runs over Rick.” Your turn, showrunners.
The Walking Dead airs on AMC Sundays at 9 p.m. ET.
