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Chandler Riggs Speaks out on Andrew Lincoln’s ‘Walking Dead’ Exit

If you’re a fan of The Walking Dead you’ve hopefully heard by now that series star Andrew Lincoln will be leaving the show after the first half of season 9. It was an announcement that shocked fans, who had also just learned that Lauren Cohan would be departing as well, but it seems that the news of Andy’s exit came as somewhat of an unsurprising surprise to Chandler Riggs, who played Lincoln’s on-screen son Carl Grimes for 8 seasons.

“I mean, Andy has been on the show for so long and he’s had to leave his family every single year, so I was surprised, but at the same time, it’s gonna be good for him to get back to his family and raise his kids,” Riggs told Good Day Sacramento while appearing at Fandemic Con this past weekend.

Of course, Lincoln’s imminent exit is just another sting to the hearts of Walking Dead fans, who had finally begun to accept the loss of Riggs’ character Carl, after he unexpectedly died from a walker bite during last season’s midseason premiere. Dubbed “the future of the apocalypse,” Carl was expected to be the last man standing when the series would eventually come to a close, with many assuming he would actually outlive Rick. When his fate was revealed, no one saw it coming – including Riggs.

“At the time I had just bought a house down near where we filmed. I had invested a lot, and when I found out I was really surprised like everyone else… Then after a while, it was actually not that bad because I could move out to LA and do more acting and do music more.”

Saying goodbye to something that had been a staple in his life for nearly a decade could have easily been a tough transition, but Riggs has certainly stayed busy since his exit. He was able to start focusing on his music career and working on other projects.

“I finished two movies over the winter and I don’t know when they’re going to come out or if they’re going to come out, but they were super fun! It wasn’t super fun having to leave the show but it’s really great to do other things and branch out.”

Soon The Walking Dead will be without the Grime’s family (of course, there’s still Judith, but you know what I mean) and the future of the series still remains unclear, but we are glad that Lincoln has been given the opportunity to leave on his own terms to go and will continue to be a great father to his kids the way that Rick Grimes was to Carl.

You can check out the full interview below!