Fans of The Walking Dead were stunned when Andrew Lincoln announced his departure as Rick Grimes earlier this year, but now the actor has revealed that he has plans to return.

Although, unfortunately, it's not in the way you might want. (However, it doesn't involve Old Man Rick.)

Ahead of season nine's premiere – Andrew's final onscreen season – the actor told Entertainment Weekly that he is "going back" to the Walking Dead set as soon as "next year".

"I'm going back to shadow a director, and my intention is to direct next year," he revealed, joking that he simply "can't bear" to be away from the series for too long.

Gene Page/AMC

"That's how much I am invested in the show and the continuation of the story," Andrew added.

The Walking Dead's leading man told fans he was moving on from the show at this year's Comic-Con, insisting that no character "is bigger than the story".

"I have two young children, and I live in a different country, and they become less portable as they get older," he later explained. "It was that simple. It was time for me to come home."

Rick will be leaving the Walking Dead universe on a high(ish) note, though, with former showrunner Scott Gimple promising a "remarkable" storyline involving Rick and Michonne.

"[Their connection] is deeper now, they went through a remarkably intense thing together. She was there for him in so many different ways, and the things she ultimately led him to do were so important... And these 18 months, while they haven't been a picnic, the war has been over."

The Walking Dead airs on AMC in the US, and on FOX and NOW TV in the UK. Season 9 premieres on October 7 in the US and October 8 in the UK.

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