Norman Reedus is in talks for a $20 million Walking Dead deal as Andrew Lincoln exits

The Hollywood Reporter

Reedus is set to replace Lincoln as the face of The Walking Dead. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Reedus "is in the midst of negotiating a rich new deal that will pay him more than $20 million as he will become the new No. 1 on the call sheet." Reedus has already begun working on Season 9 amid the negotiations. Meanwhile, Lincoln will be phased out of the AMC series over six episodes, just like co-star Lauren Cohan. With Lincoln's exit, as Miles Surrey notes, "The Walking Dead has entered genuinely uncharted territory for the first time in its history. Leaning on Reedus to carry the load is sensible, but make no mistake: This will be a different show seven episodes from now. And while AMC has happily and unironically embraced the idea of continuing The Walking Dead for another 100 episodes, losing Rick could be the first time the show’s endgame is seriously considered. The Walking Dead has always been The Grimes Show, and now it’ll be forced to find a new way to tell a story. After seasons of drudgery, it’s hard not to look at that as a positive."