Danai Gurira, who portrays Michonne on AMC's The Walking Dead, has confirmed that she will be leaving the series after its upcoming Season 10.
Gurira confirmed the long-rumored news during a panel at Comic-Con International in San Diego.
"I can confirm that this is the last season I'll be playing Michonne," she said. "This has been one of the purest joys of my life. I'm very very thankful in ways I can't express right now. TWD family is forever. But it was about my calling and other things I'm being called to."
While it's unclear how many episodes of Season 10 she'll appear in, Gurira will is the third high-profile cast member to depart the show in recent memory. Andrew Lincoln, who portrayed series protagonist Rick Grimes left the show late last year, as did Lauren Cohan, who portrayed Maggie.
While Cohan has openly discussed returning to the show, Lincoln is set to return as Grimes in the franchise's first theatrically-released feature film. Although some rumors suggested that Gurira could return as Michonne in those films, that possibility was not addressed at today's panel.
Although The Walking Dead comic book recently ended, the TV series and its spinoffs will live on, and the first trailer for Season 10 also debuted at Comic-Con.
Although it's not clear what projects Gurira will work on after The Walking Dead, she currently portrays Okoye in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and will almost certainly continue in that role for the foreseeable future.
AMC's The Walking Dead stars Norman Reedus, Danai Gurira, Melissa McBride, Josh McDermitt, Christian Serratos, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Nadia Hilker, Dan Fogler, Angel Theory, Lauren Ridloff and Eleanor Matsuura. The series returns for its 10th season in October.