It’s never all that surprising to hear that an actor is leaving AMC’s The Walking Dead, what with all the dying and the zombies. But one character that fans thought would be there forever was Michonne, played by Danai Gurira. However, it’s been revealed that the samurai-sword wielding badass will be leaving the show after Season 10.
While there is currently a lot of speculation as to how exactly Michonne will leave, we do have a few details about her last season. Michonne will only appear in a few episodes throughout the season, though she will likely be a part of the three TV movies starring Andrew Lincoln, who played sherif and group leader Rick Grimes. Gurira had been in talks for a new contract with AMC back in November, so this may have resulted from those talks.
However, unlike with other characters on the show, it looks like it was Gurrai’s decision to leave. As AMC programming president David Madden told The Hollywood Reporter:
“She has been very vocal about saying that she loves the show. We love Danai; we love that character. Right now, she’s got a lot of opportunities and she needs to weigh what she feels is best for her. But we certainly would want her on the show as long as she wants to be on it. We really want her to stay. She is an incredibly valuable character and I’m really hoping she stays. Obviously, the lesson of Andy [Lincoln] is that the show can survive anybody’s departure if need be, but that’s not our goal. The goal is to have Danai continue on whatever basis she can make work, given the other things that she has going on in her life.”
For those of you not in the know, Danai Gurira also played Okoye in Black Panther. It could be that Gurira is getting a better deal from Marvel to be in Endgame and Black Panther 2, or is just ready to put the katanas down. Either way, good for her for getting off the burning, sinking ship that is Walking Dead while she still can.
