Will "The Walking Dead" lose a major character soon following confirmed reports that Danai Gurira, who plays Michonne, is now part of the ever expanding Marvel Cinematic Universe? If Gurira will become too busy as Okoye in "Black Panther" and "Avengers: Infinity War," will she be forced to quit TWD after her Season 8 appearance?
That could mean TWD showrunner Scott Gimple will have to kill off Michonne, a specter that's troubling Walking Dead fans. And the concern seems valid as Gurira seems more important than ever in AMC's zombie apocalypse show. According to Cinema Blend, things are getting more interesting as Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) and his group continues on their fight against Negan. If ever the war will explode into something more serious "Rick is going to need Michonne's brand of badass," the report added.
Michonne meeting her demise in Season 8 gained further noise as the confirmation went out that Okoye will appear in Infinity War, raising the prospect of Gurira getting swamped by workloads. If the schedule will get too tight for the actress, she will need to drop some other gigs and it's unthinkable she'll pass up on the big break that is of a Marvel character.
However, leaving TWD might not be necessary for Gurira since if filming schedules for The Walking Dead and Infinity War lead to some conflicts, the actress can actually be in two places at (nearly) the same time, ComicBook.com reported. According to the same report, AMC's television show and Infinity War are tipped to shoot within Georgia and locations are approximately some 15-minute drive apart.
This indicates that if Gurira wishes so, she can do both the Marvel projects and The Walking Dead at the same time and the trick requires only bits of time management tweaks. In the end, "we have no reason to believe Gurira is exiting the AMC series in favor of the Marvel Cinematic Universe," the report said.
In the same way, it makes no sense for AMC to set up Michonne for an imminent departure from TWD as the character is crucial to the show narrative.
But truth to be told, killing off key characters is nothing new in a TV series. In "Game of Thrones," Eddard Stark (Sean Bean) was beheaded in Season 1 even as fans were made to believe that the character will make it all the way to the show's final season. And inside The Walking Dead, Glenn Rhee (Steven Yeun) suffered a horrific death despite the character among the most beloved in the show.
So Michonne bidding goodbye soon is not exactly impossible and one reason could be a career move on Gurira's part. As mentioned, if she will have to choose between The Walking Dead and Infinity War it seems the choice is easy.
Yet for now, there are compelling indicators Gurira is on her way out real soon. As Movie Pilot conceded on its report: "We don't know what the future holds for Michonne on The Walking Dead." But in the event of an abrupt exit for Gurira, surely it's not the end of the road for her.
The Walking Dead returns to AMC for Season 8 on October 2017.
