One of the biggest shocks of the past few months was the news that Andrew Lincoln was to leave The Walking Dead, and now creator Robert Kirkman has addressed the topic.

Speaking at San Diego Comic Con (courtesy of Bloody-Disgusting), Kirkman confirmed that Lincoln is indeed leaving the show, explaining, “This is somebody that I’ve known for almost a decade, somebody that I love. He’s been sweating in Georgia away from his family for so long. He wants to do something special on the way out. We’ve got something amazing planned. Anybody who loves Rick Grimes, loves the world of The Walking Dead, you’re gonna want to see what we do.”

On how the departure of mainstay Lincoln will affect the show, Kirkman added, “It does make the differences between the comic and the show a little bit more pronounced.”

From what we’ve heard, it appears as if Andrew Lincoln will appear in just six episodes of the impending ninth season of this genre juggernaut. Similarly, Lauren Cohan will be departing the series alongside Lincoln. How Lincoln’s Rick and Cohan’s Maggie are written out of the action remains to be seen, but it sounds as if we can expect something major to play out. After all, these are two of the very biggest characters in The Walking Dead, with Rick the focus of the show from the get-go, while Maggie has been a key figure since popping up in Season 2.

As ever, expect more on all things The Walking Dead as we get it – and be sure to check back over the weekend for the hotly-anticipated full trailer for Season 9!