WARNING: The following contains massive spoilers for The Walking Dead #192, on sale now.
Former AMC’s The Walking Dead star Chandler Riggs has responded to the death of Rick Grimes in the comics. Rick’s death heavily hints that his son, Carl, who Riggs played on the TV show, will go on to become the series’ new protagonist.
This, of course, could be perceived as a source of frustration for fans of the show who were dissatisfied seeing Carl die from a zombie bite on the small screen while he was still alive and kicking in the comics, which are chronologically considerably further along than the show.
Rick’s death has long been teased by The Walking Dead comic series writer Robert Kirkman, who had effectively confirmed that the protagonist would perish before the story ended but refused to provide details on when that could happen.
In the comics, Rick is killed by a teenager name Sebastian who is angry after Rick successfully prevents a civil war in the Commonwealth. Sebastian breaks into Rick’s home and shoots him several times, forcing Carl to put down the zombified remains of his father the next morning.
Rick’s story ended on a much luckier note on the show, having been shuttled off the series in a helicopter to star in various spinoffs announced shortly after his departure. While Carl succeeds his father in the comics, the character is dead on the show, leaving many, including Riggs, to wonder what could have been.