The Walking Dead star Andrew Lincoln has just snagged his next movie role, as the actor has signed on to star in the upcoming drama Penguin Bloom. The movie is adapted from the book of the same name by Bradley Trevor Greive and Cameron Bloom, which is very highly-rated in addition to being a bestseller. The Cry helmer Glendyn Ivin is set to direct the movie, using a screenplay written by Shaun Grant and Harry Cripps. Lincoln's co-star Naomi Watts is also producing the project, along with Emma Cooper and Made Up Stories' Bruna Papandrea, Jodi Matterson, and Steve Hutensky.

In the Penguin Bloom movie, Lincoln will star opposite Naomi Watts, portraying her character's husband. The story is set on the northern beaches of Sydney and follows the aftermath of a horrific accident which leaves the mother of a young family paralyzed. As the family deals with the struggles of their new way of life, an injured Magpie chick dubbed "Penguin" saunters into their lives. Referred to in the book as an "odd little bird who saved a family," the Magpie turns out to be an unlikely savior for the family, completely changing the way each of them looks at life.

Andrew Lincoln is of course best known for starring as Rick Grimes on the hit AMC zombie drama The Walking Dead. Beginning with the pilot episode of the series in 2010, Lincoln had been the central protagonist of the show, with the story following his search for his missing wife (Sarah Wayne Callies) and son (Chandler Riggs) in the midst of a zombie apocalypse. Though he would soon come to reunite with his family members, he would ultimately lose them both as the series progressed. Still, despite failing to keep his family safe, Rick had long been one of the most popular characters on the series, next to other fan favorites like Daryl Dixon (Norman Reedus) and Michonne (Danai Gurira).

All good things must come to an end, and Lincoln decided it was time to leave the The Walking Dead at the start of its ninth season. However, the character's life was spared when Rick Grimes was written out of the show, leaving the door open for a potential return. It has since been confirmed Lincoln will be reprising the role in multiple Walking Dead movies, the first of which recently had an official teaser trailer revealed. The teaser also confirms that the movie will be a theatrical release as opposed to a TV movie developed for AMC, finally bringing the hit franchise to the big screen with one of its most beloved characters.

There's no word yet on when Penguin Bloom will be hitting theaters, but this movie will be one to watch out for if you're a fan of the Lincoln. Now that he's no longer starring on weekly episodes of The Walking Dead, we'll see if the actor can find similar success on the big screen. This information comes to us from Variety.