"The Walking Dead" season 8 lead star Andrew Lincoln recently admitted that he wanted Rick Grimes to follow the footsteps of his comic book counterpart. In the graphic book series, his character's right hand was cut off during an encounter with the greatest villain, the Governor.
During the panel discussion at New York Comic-Con 2017, Lincoln divulged, "That is the one thing that I have been campaigning for for a long time, for them to chop my arm off." Dedicated fans have been waiting for that moment to happen in the TV series, although the show is already past the scene in the comic books when Rick was supposed to lose his hand.
The Australian actor then joked, "All that happens is the special effects department just starts sucking their teeth [like], 'That's gonna cost a lot of money to do.'" If the show had followed the source material, then Rick's hand would have been chopped off during "The Walking Dead" season 3 or 4.
Lincoln expressed his desire for the TV series to stick to the source material. Rick first met the Governor — who was considered as the notorious anti-hero in the magazine — in the #28 of the comic book. When the former refused to tell him where his camp was, the Governor got revenge by cutting off Rick's right hand. The hero spent an ample of time adjusting to the loss of his body part, and in the long run, had it replaced with a prosthetic claw.
The possibility of Rick losing a part of his body has been addressed several times before. Series creator Robert Kirkman has consistently expressed his thoughts against the idea, explaining that it would complicate some of the action scenes. In an episode of "The Writer's Room," he revealed, "The practical difficulties of having a guy who doesn't have a hand is extremely complicated in the comic and would be impossible in the show."
He further explained, "Because the comic book doesn't move. It would add a huge complication to the TV series, and probably a lot more money to the budget, especially since Rick is the main character and involved in many action scenes." Based on his comments, it is unlikely that the idea will take place anytime soon.
"The Walking Dead" season 8 will premiere on Sunday, Oct. 22, at 9 p.m. ETD on AMC.
