Hot on the heels of this week’s explosive episode of The Walking Dead, now comes word that two of the show’s key players have signed new deals.
Courtesy of The Hollywood Reporter, Norman Reedus and Melissa McBride have penned new deals with AMC that will see them sticking around for the next three years. Now that Andrew Lincoln has officially departed the series, that leaves Reedus’ Daryl and McBride’s Carol as the only remaining cast members and characters from The Walking Dead’s first season.
If you remember, yesterday saw AMC announce that they are developing a trilogy of Walking Dead movies, with those features being used to continue the journey of Lincoln’s Rick Grimes. The new deals in place for Reedus and McBride include the ability for these stars to move between any Walking Dead properties that the network has in the works – be that the main The Walking Dead, Fear the Walking Dead, the aforementioned movies, or any other project that is put into development.
Both Norman Reedus and Melissa McBride will see a significant pay increase with these new agreements. The early word is that McBride’s three-year deal will see her pocket approximately £20 million, while Reedus’ contract is thought to be worth £350,000 per episode and at least £50 million in total.
AMC also has plans to come to a similar agreement with Danai Gurira to continue on as Michonne, although her recent moves in Hollywood could prove to be a slight stumbling block. In addition to her role as Okoye in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Gurira is to feature in 2020’s Godzilla vs. Kong.
As ever, expect more on all things The Walking Dead as we get it.