The Walking Dead has had no shortage of shocking deaths over the years that fans have struggled to come to terms with, but it looks like season 9 might be about to push things too far for the majority of longtime viewers. That’s because we recently learned that Andrew Lincoln will be stepping down as the star of the hit AMC show in the new run, meaning that the series will have to forge ahead without Rick Grimes.
It’s fair to say fans aren’t reacting well to the news. The Walking Dead subreddit held a bunch of surveys to gauge the overall response to Rick’s upcoming exit and they don’t paint a positive picture. First off, they asked fans to pick how they’d like Rick to be written out – should he simply leave Alexandria, giving the actor the option to return one day? Or should he be killed off? The results were split, as 49% of fans voted “Leave” and 51% chose “Die.”
Another poll questioned who should take over from Rick as the show’s new lead. Interestingly, 40% voted for Negan, suggesting they’d like to see the villain turned into a hero. 20% then picked baby Judith, who could be older when we see her next thanks to the time jump. Daryl, Michonne and Carol, meanwhile, came out with similar results, earning 15%, 14% and 12%, respectively.
The cruncher, though, comes in the poll which asked fans whether they’d continue watching The Walking Dead once Rick exits, after his brief six episode run in season 9. Just 18.8% of voters were sure they’d stick with it, with 36.9% going for “Maybe” and a majority of 44.3% outright stating that they’ll leave along with Andrew Lincoln. This negative reaction is also mirrored in a survey on whether the series should end after season 9, with a whopping 72% voting that it should.
We’ll have to see if these surveys reflect the viewing figures when The Walking Dead season 9 airs this fall, but in the meantime, feel free to share your thoughts on all this in the comments section down below.