Another day, another "The Walking Dead" theory shot down.
Executive producer Scott Gimple has debunked a talked-about theory regarding the shot of Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) as an old man. In the show's trailer for season 8, Rick seems to have significantly aged and looks to be injured and has fans wildly speculating about "The Walking Dead's" main character and where the show is headed in the coming season.
One of the most discussed fan theory is that Old Man Rick is a time jump of the AMC series akin to the one done in the comic books after the violent conclusion of the all-out war against the villain Negan. Another popular theory floating around is that Old Man Rick is the Rick from the beginning of the zombie drama series waking up in the hospital from his coma. This theory could potentially make all the events that happened on the show since the beginning to be just a complex dream.
Gimple did not give a lot of details concerning Old Man Rick or what he signifies or where the show is headed, but he has debunked the theory about Rick waking up in the hospital from a dream. Speaking with Entertainment Weekly he said that, "I can say that it is not him waking up from the coma in the hospital. Some people thought that, and it's not that."
With that theory debunked, the show can still tackle Old Man Rick. One way they can do it is to have the series jump forward in time — more or less 10 years into future. In a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, Andrew Lincoln shared that he was shocked to find out about the development of his character, but at the same time, found it to be a great storytelling device. As far as storytelling devices go, the writers could be setting up the first half of the season with several small time jumps to prepare for the big flash-forward later on. Gimple has confirmed that Old Man Rick will make an appearance on the season 8's premiere, but the details surrounding it will not be told much later in the season.
"The Walking Dead" will return on Sunday, Oct. 22, at 9 p.m. EDT on AMC.
