For the past few months, most of what we’ve been doing is looking forward to Season 6 of The Walking Dead, but now it’s time to take a look back into the past for a story that never got told during the TV show. Comic fans know that the page version of Rick Grimes has been ruling the roost for years with just one hand, and though there were talks about that life-changing injury getting brought over to the small screen, it was ultimately scrapped due to how expensive the special effects would have to be. Boo.
It might surprise everyone to know that the person championing the hand loss the most was Andrew Lincoln himself, since many other actors would probably want to keep their jobs as easy as possible. Here’s what the actor had to say about it.
You know, I campaigned two seasons ago when the Governor was around…I was saying, ‘You’ve gotta do the hand, guys!’ And Victor, who was in charge of special effects, just said, ‘No, no no no. Anybody else but not you. It’ll cost a fortune with green screen and blue screen.’
They certainly have a point, there. Had one of the secondary actors lost a hand, or someone who was only around for a couple of episodes, it would have been a lot easier and cheaper to show them coping without that particular body part. But Rick is the central character to the show and not only is he around the most, but he’s also doing as many or more action sequences than any other cast member. That would be hellish.
But even though that was only a few years ago, effects work only gets better and more efficient as time goes by. So is there a chance we might see it happening in the future? Lincoln tells ComicBook this:
But you know, I’m of the opinion that certainly with where the story seems to be going this season, no one is safe from long term damage.
Considering Season 6 is only a few episodes away from a finished production, it isn’t very likely that Rick’s high five capabilities will be cut by 50%. But maybe somebody else will get chopped up.
In the comics, it was during a recon mission with Glenn and Michonne to Woodbury that Rick got his hand lopped off, after telling The Governor that the three of them were a lone group of survivors. It was right after this that Michonne bit The Governor’s ear off, another moment that would have been nice to see in the series. We’re also waiting to see if the show gives Carl his own major comic injury.
Find out who’s getting hurt and who’s staying healthy when Season 6 of The Walking Dead premieres on AMC on Sunday, October 11.
