The Walking Dead community was left in tears with Rick Grimes’ (Andrew Lincoln) final moments in season nine’s “What Comes After.” Season 10 will be a full Rick Grimes-less season. Lincoln’s absence from last month’s Comic-Con left a presence that was truly missed by fans and the cast members. 

Norman Reedus and Andrew Lincoln are no strangers to brotherly love. After years of friendship and endless pranks on one another, Reedus felt strange not having Lincoln at Comic-Con this year.

“But yeah, it’s weird without Rick, I have to say,” shared Reedus. “We came here and one of the people that works in the hotel put little Rick pictures all over our rooms, in the toilet, in the bed, in the shower. Our rooms are covered with Rick.”

Cooper Andrews, who plays Jerry on the show, hopes the new season is a nod to the legacy of Andrew Lincoln and his character, Grimes. “It’s knowing that now that Andy has left the show, and he left this super important job on all of us to continue the work, knowing the story is the most important thing,” explained Andrews. “And this season is an awesome change from what we’ve done in the past, and I’m really hoping Andy’s gonna be proud of what we’ve done.”

Big changes will be expected in the story after Danai Gurira announced her departure from the show. Her character, Michonne, has been a part of The Walking Dead universe since season three. However, Negan’s Jeffrey Dean Morgan trusts that the show will continue to improve and go to greater heights despite losing two important characters. 

“But year ten of this show, that’s rarified air, and I think [showrunner Angela Kang] and the writers have a really good grasp of what’s happening moving forward, and we’ll see what that world looks like,” said Morgan. “But I think what we did last year after Andy left, I was very proud of, and hopefully we’ll be able to do the same thing now with Danai leaving. But it’s a hole that you can never fill. That’s the truth of the matter, you can’t fill Andy or Danai leaving the show.”

According to Comic Book, the official season 10 synopsis reads: “The Walking Dead is a story that started 10 years ago with one man trying to find his family. That family grew and gradually communities took shape. They fought and survived, thrived and gave birth to a new generation. It is a tale of humankind and there are more stories to tell.”

The Walking Dead returns with an all-new season on Sunday, October 6 on AMC. 

Photo credit for Raymond Flotat.