The Walking Dead's Norman Reedus says he's asked Andrew Lincoln to return for final season

Lincoln left the show during its ninth season in 2018, having been part of the main cast since the show's beginning - and his character Rick Grimes is set to be the focus of an upcoming feature film.

But Reedus says he'd love to see Lincoln return for one lust hurrah in the main series before it wraps up at the end of its eleventh run.

He told RadioTimes.com and other press: "You know, I was teasing him the other day on the phone. I was like, 'You’re coming back for this last season, right?'."

Despite asking the question however, Reedus says that Lincoln has been non-committal with his answer so far.

"He’s like, 'Uh…' you know, he won’t say anything. He won’t commit. But it’s very Andrew Lincoln to try to pull a fast one on me.

"So I don’t know. I have no idea. I literally don’t know. I wish I knew. And I have a big mouth, so they probably wouldn’t tell me!"

So while it seems we can't bank on another Rick Grimes appearance at this stage, we also can't rule it out - and there will no doubt be a clamour from fans for Lincoln to star once again.

Lincoln recently reassured fans that his Rick Grimes movie project is still on the cards, revealing in a recent interview with Collider that they are “working on it”.

It was announced earlier this month that The Walking Dead would be coming to a close at the end of season 11, but there are numerous spin-offs in the works in addition to the aforementioned movie project.

Two new shows - one of which will focus on popular characters Daryl (Norman Reedus) and Carol (Melissa McBride) and the other of which is an anthology delving into the backstories of familiar characters - have been ordered, joining existing spin-off project Fear the Walking Dead and the forthcoming The Walking Dead: World Beyond.

Additional material by Michael Potts

The Walking Dead returns to FOX in the UK on Monday, 5th October at 9pm. Looking for something else to watch? Check out our TV Guide.