How will The Walking Dead TV series end? When will it end? It doesn't seem to be going anywhere anytime soon, but Carl Grimes actor Chandler Riggs shared a theory on how he thinks AMC will put the show to bed.
The Walking Dead Season 10 is currently airing, and Season 11 has already been renewed, with Lauren Cohan returning as Maggie. The Powers That Be have talked about continuing the franchise well into the future, alongside spinoffs like Fear the Walking Dead, Walking Dead: World Beyond, and Andrew Lincoln's Rick Grimes movies.
Carl Grimes was killed off The Walking Dead in a Season 8 shocker Chandler Riggs famously did not see coming. But he remained a fan of Robert Kirkman's comic books and was pumped about what last year's big Rick Grimes twist could've meant for Carl as the comics' new protagonist. He also said he'd love to be in Andy Lincoln's Grimes movies.
When it comes to the TV show, Chandler Riggs kept his mind mixing the series with the comics with his speculation on how The Walking Dead will end on AMC. Here's what he recently told a Wizard World Cleveland 2020 panel when asked about Rick Grimes' future, seguing into how he sees everything ending:
My kind of theory is that the whole CRM thing they're setting up, they're setting it up to be the CRM versus the Commonwealth and there’s gonna be like a big battle at the end. That's kind of how they're gonna close out the whole franchise. That's my guess. I promise I know nothing, I’m not spoiling anything. This is purely my guess. Disclaimer! ... Rick will be at CRM or whatever and then Maggie will be at the Commonwealth, that's kind of my guess.
The Walking Dead TV show has been "remixing" the comic book story since the beginning, and recent seasons have diverged in serious ways. But he may be right about CRM vs. the Commonwealth as the final battle, we'll see. The CRM group is still mysterious on TV but has been teased on both The Walking Dead and Fear the Walking Dead. The Commonwealth is a massive community with a big role in the comic book that we should be spending a lot more time with on the TV show pretty soon.
Meanwhile, The Walking Dead comic book writer Robert Kirkman shocked everyone last summer by abruptly ending his series. SPOILER ALERT for the comics. In the penultimate issue, he killed off Rick Grimes. In the final issue, there was a huge time jump decades into the future, ending with adult Carl and his wife Sophia and their daughter Andrea. Carl ends the series in a rocking chair with his daughter, telling her the story of his father Rick Grimes.
Scott Gimple said The Walking Dead still plans to adapt the comics finale, but acknowledged it would be a challenge without the death of Rick Grimes. We don't know yet how Rick's story will play out in the movies. However, the TV show already killed off Carl Grimes, not to mention Sophia, so any "remix" of the finale would have to substitute several characters. Maybe Judith takes on the role of Carl Grimes, with Daryl Dixon as the new Rick? Now I'm the one just speculating.
The Walking Dead has taken a massive ratings hit in the past couple of seasons -- blame Negan -- but the franchise seems to keep expanding. Nothing lasts forever, though, so WHEN and HOW do you think The Walking Dead will end?
The Walking Dead Season 10 continues Sundays at 9 p.m. before taking its usual summer break and returning for Season 11 to start in October 2020.
