Fans have patiently awaited the return of Andrew Lincoln and Danai Gurira to The Walking Dead for years. Lincoln was the main protagonist and the series lead for AMC as Rick Grimes for nine seasons before his departure in 2018. Gurira joined the long-running show in Season 3 as the katana-wielding Michonne before her eventual exit in 2020 during the show's tenth season.
The fate of both characters was mainly left up in the air as Michonne searched for Rick after his dramatic disappearance in the previous season. Fans believed an update on the characters might be a plot point during the final episodes of Season 11, which is the last entry in the mainline Walking Dead series. However, for now, Rick and Michonne's whereabouts remain a mystery, although we know we will see them reprise their roles soon.
A Rick and Michonne spinoff was announced during the Walking Dead San Diego Comic-Con panel and is currently slated to arrive sometime in 2023. The series should wrap up the storyline of the two characters and serve as a fitting end to the story that began in 2010 with the premiere. Gurira recently spoke to Deadline and teased what to expect from the upcoming spinoff series.
"There's a spinoff that is coming out that we're in pre-production. I co-created it with Scott Gimple and [Andrew] Lincoln, and we're having a great time. It's a lot of work though, a lot of work. Well it's an epic love story. It's a love story between Rick and Michonne, as we know that they were together and got separated. So this is that story, that journey between the two of them with a very raging world around them."
The Rick & Michonne Spinoff Is a Miniseries
The Walking Dead series was never meant to be the end for Andrew Lincoln with Rick Grimes, as he was initially meant to star in a trilogy of movies centered around his character. However, during the SDCC presentation earlier this year, the actor cleared up any confusion surrounding the future of Rick.
The Rick and Michonne show will be a miniseries, with the official AMC release stating it will "begin with six episodes," however that leaves room for expansion. There should be plenty left to explore with the two characters, as Rick was last seen severely wounded as he was flown away in a helicopter. Michonne still faces the daunting task of finding him as she travels across apocalyptic America alone. Fans can see Gurira and Lincoln back in their iconic roles when the untitled Rick and Michonne spinoff arrives at AMC and AMC+ in 2023.