Masked singer
Andrew Lincoln and Lauren Cohan both left The Walking Dead five episodes into season 9, but while it was announced that Lincoln’s Rick Grimes would return for a trilogy of Walking Dead movies, the status for Cohan and her Maggie Rhee has been up in the air since she departed to go star in ABC’s Whiskey Cavalier.
With The Walking Dead heading into production on season 10 in less than a month in Georgia, and Whiskey Cavalier now awaiting word on a possible season 2, which could begin filming as early as this summer in Prague, the question remains as to Cohan’s status with the franchise. Might she be appearing in season 10 of TWD? And, if so, would be it be in a limited capacity if Whiskery Cavalier is renewed, or a full-time one if it is not? And can The Walking Dead showrunner Angela Kang even wait on Whiskey’s fate before plotting out the full season arc? Probably not.
Of course, there are other Walking Dead possibilities for Cohan beyond the mothership show. Chief Content Officer Scott M. Gimple already told EW that a Maggie Rhee movie is “absolutely a possibility.” Gimple has said that in some form or fashion that Lauren Cohan’s character would make a return: “I will say that Angela and I and others really want to see Maggie back on the show. We have a lot of story for her that we want to tackle and we’ve talked about different ways we can do it. That said, if Whiskey Cavalier lights up the world, we’re still going to do Maggie stuff. We’re just going to figure out different ways to do it.”
Not only could that mean a movie (or series of movies, like with Rick Grimes, and perhaps Danai Gurira’s Michonne), but it also could mean another Walking Dead spin-off — perhaps looking at the adventures of Maggie and Georgie, with whom she has been off community-building during her absence on TWD.
But what does Cohan herself have to say about all of this? The actress popped by SiriusXM for an interview on EW Morning Live (Entertainment Weekly Radio, channel 105) that will air on Friday, April 5 and confirmed that she will be back in The Walking Dead franchise in some way, and that we have not seen the last of Maggie. “We’ll see what happens,” she said when asked if we’ll see her in season 10. “There is definitely a lot of exciting ways [for it to happen]. And the universe, I’m still very much a part of it. And it’s not over. So, for me, that’s exciting. And I get so excited because we talk about different possibilities.”
While Cohan promises Maggie will return, exactly when and where that happens remains a question due to a myriad of logistical issues, with Cohan pointing out that “It is the timing of all characters involved that are also integral to how we would be able to do it.”
But Cohan was clear that she definitely sees the character continuing, and that she often has Maggie on the mind. “I don’t ever feel like it’s [in the past],” says Cohan. “It’s the weirdest thing and I would never know it until I was in this situation, [but] I think about Maggie all the time. She’s always, like, inside of me. This sounds weird, but she is. It’s partly knowing the story is continuing, the story is unfinished. It’s partly having active conversations all the time with Angela and with Scott. But it’s mostly [because] in one way I was like: Wouldn’t it be cool if he had just some epic hero’s death and it was over? And then I get so sad because I’m like: No, because the potential for what worlds we could create — it’s like, ‘Hey, guys, you didn’t know this was happening, but by the way, come with us and come and explore this.’”
Cohan was on the brink of tears as she talked about her connection to the character and getting to continue playing her moving forward: “I have goosebumps right now. I’m emotional. And I’m so glad and it’s so cool to kind of be this little walking house of stories that she’s there, and Frankie [from Whiskey Cavalier] is there. And obviously the impact and amount of time with Maggie, that’s such a huge part of me, and my life, and my life as an actor, and my coming to as an actor, and everything. So no, it’s definitely not done. I’m way too sentimental a person.”
So whether we see Maggie on season 10, on another Walking Dead show, or in a Walking Dead movie remains to be seen, but at least she will be seen at some point, somewhere.
To hear our entire interview with Cohan, tune into EW Morning Live on Friday, April 5 at 8 a.m. ET on SiriusXM (channel 105).
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