When will the first The Walking Dead – Andrew Lincoln movie air?

On Sunday night, AMC totally hoodwinked everyone regarding The Walking Dead as well as the future of one Rick Grimes. It started with us thinking he was going to die since Andrew Lincoln is leaving the show to spend more time with his family. Soon after that, it moved into us thinking that the character was just sent off into a helicopter for the rest of eternity with Jadis (not the greatest end for him). Now, it looks as though he and Jadis are shifting over to AMC Studios original movies that are going to be coming up in the future. These will continue the journey of this character, while also giving Andrew Lincoln a chance to be at home a little more often. Heck, it’s possible that they could film even closer to his home in the UK.

For more Walking Dead video reaction… – Check out our thoughts on the decision with Rick below! (Note that this was recorded prior to the announcement of the movies coming out.) For some other insight, be sure to subscribe to CarterMatt on YouTube — and also take a look at our playlist!

So when could these movies come out? While on the surface, it may feel as though they are very far away, they are actually a little bit closer than you’d think. Speaking on this subject via Entertainment Weekly, here is what executive producer / overseer of the entire franchise Scott M. Gimple had to say:

I am extremely hard at work on the first [movie] right now, and most likely filming next year, though I’m freaking out about deadlines right now, so I’m not going to tell you exactly when because it will only make me pass out. But it really is going to be sooner than later. On the flip side, these are not going to be made on television schedules. This is going to be on feature schedules, and they’re going to be big, so they’re going to take a minute to make.

With that in mind, we imagine that we’ll be lucky to see the first Rick Grimes – The Walking Dead movie in 2019, though it would be an awesome way to end the first half of a season or put on as some sort of special in December. Beyond that, maybe a movie would work rather well in the summer when the show itself is off of the air … provided that the main series lasts for long enough that they are able to continue to make it a pop-culture event. That’s the big thing here: AMC is investing a heck of a lot in a franchise that seems to have a reasonably-uncertain future on the air.

Related News – Be sure to get some additional insight right away when it comes to the next new episode

What did you think about The Walking Dead and the idea of doing Rick movies? Does it appear to you at all? Share in the comments. (Photo: AMC.)