The Walking Dead Movie in Development

(Spoilers Ahead for the latest episode of The Walking Dead)

Rick Grimes may have disappeared aboard a helicopter in The Walking Dead 9×05, but his story isn’t quite done yet. The chief content officer for the franchise, Scott M. Gimple, has revealed that three feature-length films are in the works, with Andrew Lincoln expected to reprise his role as the iconic character. And no, these aren’t silver-screen flicks. They will be direct-to-TV features developed for the AMC (The Walking Dead‘s home network in the US).

The prospect for three The Walking Dead films is appetizing enough for the dedicated fan. However, Gimple mind-blowingly stated that it won’t stop there.

The story of Rick will go on in films. Right now, we’re working on three but there’s flexibility in that. … Over the next several years, we’re going to be doing specials, new series are quite a possibility, high-quality digital content and then some content that defies description at the moment. We’re going to dig into the past and see old characters. We’re going to introduce new characters and new situations.

Holy moly. It would seem The Walking Dead is turning into something akin to the Galactic Empire. The show’s creator Robert Kirkman has expressed the desire for there to be at least twelve seasons overall – and then there’s the spin-off, Fear The Walking Dead, which was renewed for a fifth season this year.

The idea of extra films and digital content? That’s just more icing on the super-fan’s proverbial cake.

Going back to ol’ Mr. Grimes though, it was recently revealed that the character would be killed off at the end of Season Eight. But both Lincoln and Gimple loved the character and instead decided to continue his story in a way that would allow the 45-year-old actor to spend more time with his family. These movies are a result of that thinking. It means Lincoln need only spend two months shooting as opposed to a season-long nine months.

Are you happy that we will see more of Rick? Were you pleased or disappointed with his exit from The Walking Dead? Be sure to let us know your thoughts in the comments below!