Last weekend, AMC’s “The Walking Dead” finally came to an end after eleven seasons. What was the biggest show on TV at its height years ago left the air fairly quietly with little fanfare or controversy.
Part of that is because the franchise is far from ending with multiple spin-off shows on the way, and with a decent amount of time in the finale setting them up.
That included Rick (Andrew Lincoln) and Michonne (Danai Gurira), who made appearances in a several-minute sequence that was reportedly filmed in August, long after the main series wrapped.
Greg Nicotero directed the finale and recently spoke with Insider about it, saying the inclusion of the pair’s scenes scuttled the finale’s original ending:
“There was a scene that we had shot, but when it was decided to put the coda in we felt like it would conflict with the Rick and Michonne bit. So we took it out.”
According to the outlet, that original ending would’ve jumped forward in time by twenty-five years whilst also paying tribute to the show’s pilot episode. Here’s a breakdown of the scene:
“After Daryl rode off, we cut forward to the Freedom Parkway, outside Atlanta – where the iconic shot of Rick rode down from the pilot. See an ethanol-modified van, with a young woman and man in the front seats (in their twenties). And through the scene, we come to realize it’s adult RJ and Judith.
Other adult versions of the kids are in the back – Coco, Gracie, etc. They’re out there, looking to escort any survivors back to their communities. Continuing the legacy of their parents.
As RJ speaks over the radio, he finishes with: “If you can hear me, answer back. This is Rick Grimes.” (Which, of course, is his name – and the line Rick said in the pilot.) Then we end with the voice of a survivor answering back: ‘Hello?'”
The narrations from Judith over certain episodes of the past season essentially setup that original code on the finale that’s no longer there. Series cinematographer Duane Charles Manwiller has also shared a photo taken on the set of the finale which you can see below.
Two other spin-off series are also on the way, including a Negan and Maggie one, and a Daryl one.
