The first planned movie centered on “The Walking Dead” character Rick Grimes will now run in theaters rather than on AMC.
The announcement was made with a brief teaser video played at San Diego Comic-Con on Friday, with the video ending with the words “Only in Theaters.” The film will be distributed by Universal Pictures. No release date has been set.
The films were first announced in late 2018 following Andrew Lincoln’s departure from the flagship AMC series, on which Lincoln had played Grimes since the pilot.
“Walking Dead” chief content officer Scott Gimple will serve as writer. The film is planned to continue the story of Rick Grimes. AMC had originally planned to begin production as early as 2019 but it is unclear if that is still the case.
In addition to the film, there is also the main series, the sister series “Fear the Walking Dead,” and the recently announced third and untitled series. The third series will tell the story of the first generation of kids to grow up during the zombie apocalypse. “Fear the Walking Dead” was picked up for a sixth season on Friday.
Lincoln’s exit was a major blow for “The Walking Dead,” with Danai Gurira confirming her exit from the series in Season 10 as well. Norman Reedus and Melissa McBride are now among the longest-serving cast members on the popular series.