The Hollywood Reporter has brought word that Danai Gurira (Black Panther), the acclaimed star who has portrayed Michonne on the AMC apocalypse series The Walking Dead since the second season, will be exiting the series after seven seasons.
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Gurira has signed a new deal to appear in a more limited capacity for the recently ordered tenth season, reportedly set only to appear in a handful of episodes before exiting one of the network’s flagship franchises and transitioning to the upcoming trilogy movie spin-offs featuring Andrew Lincoln in the lead role as Rick Grimes. The 40-year-old actress’ character has been romantically linked with Grimes since season six.
The second half of The Walking Dead Season 9 finds our groups of survivors, both old and new, continuing to deal with the impact of events that took place during the six years that have passed. Since the disappearance of Rick, many of these characters have become strangers to each other, and in some ways, strangers to themselves. What they do know is that they are in undeniable danger. They will soon realize the world just beyond does not operate as they thought.
The group’s rules and ways of survival no longer guarantee their safety. A whole new threat has crossed their paths, and they soon discover it’s unlike any threat they have encountered or endured before. The group will start to question what they think they see. What may appear to be normal in this post-apocalyptic world could actually be more disturbing and terrifying than when the apocalypse first broke out. All that is certain is the stakes are high and numerous.
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The series stars Norman Reedus (Blade II), Gurira (Black Panther, Avengers: Infinity War), Melissa McBride, Alanna Masterson, Josh McDermitt, Christian Serratos, Seth Gilliam, Ross Marquand, Austin Amelio, Tom Payne, Xander Berkeley, Khary Payton, and Jeffrey Dean Morgan.
Based on the comic book series written by Robert Kirkman and published by Image Comics, The Walking Dead reigns the number one drama on television among adults 18-49 for the last six seasons. The series is executive produced by chief content officer Scott M. Gimple, showrunner Angela Kang, Robert Kirkman, Gale Anne Hurd, David Alpert, Greg Nicotero, Tom Luse and Denise Huth.
The Walking Dead airs Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on AMC. The midseason premiere will air on February 10 on AMC.
