Will Rick Grimes soon be reunited with his son? Chandler Riggs seems to think so. The actor’s character Carl Grimes was killed at the end of season 8. In the promo for The Walking Dead season 9, Carl’s dad Rick (Andrew Lincoln) is wearing his hat again – the one he gave to Carl and his son wore throughout his time on the show.
“I think it means he’s homage to his son,” Riggs, 19, told Us Weekly at Halloween Horror Nights. “I think he is kind of stepping up and taking on his fatherly role that he probably felt like he was missing during Carl’s life but he’s going to try to be there for Judith’s life.”
He also noted that “it’s possible” Rick could get killed off. “I heard he’s leaving but, you never know. You never know what they’re going to end up doing,” he told Us, adding that he absolutely understands while Lincoln, 45, decided to leave the show at the end of season 9.
“It’s always horrible when someone leaves a show but I think for Andy, he’s had to leave his family every single year because he’s from England. It’s really hard for him to not be raising his kids as much,” Riggs said. “So I think it’s gonna be great for him to be able to actually raise his kids and be with his family more.”
With this season including a scene with Jon Bernthal, whose character was killed off in season 2, there’s always a chance that Riggs’ Carl Grimes could appear in a flashback scene – something he’d be thrilled to do. “It’d be so good to be back on set,” he said.
The Walking Dead season 9 premieres on AMC Sunday, October 7, at 9 p.m. ET.
