Rick Grimes is no longer a part of The Walking Dead (at least not the show), but Andrew Lincoln thinks that he may have picked the wrong time to leave. One of the most shocking surprises during season 9 was the departure of Lincoln as Rick, who had fronted the show since the very first episode. News got out that he was set to leave during this season ahead of time, but it was no less surprising for fans. Lincoln was ready to go, but he has expressed some regret, at least in regards to the timing of it all.

This comes from Norman Reedus, who plays Daryl Dixon on the zombie drama and is one of very few original cast members who remain. Reedus was recently interviewed about the upcoming season 9 finale. During the interview, he revealed that he spoke with his buddy Andrew Lincoln on the phone and, during their chat, Lincoln had this to say.

"It's funny because I talked to Andy the other day. And he was like, 'Man, I picked the wrong time to leave the show because it's so f*****g good right now.' I'm like, 'Yeah, you did, dude. You picked the wrong time.'"

It's not so much that Andrew Lincoln regrets his decision to leave, at least based on what Norman Reedus is relaying here. It's more that he believes that the quality of storytelling is so good that he regrets not being able to be a part of it. Critics and fans, at least the ones who are still watching, would seem to back that up. The most recent episode, The Calm Before, despite being the least-watched episode in the show's history, was praised by critics and viewers alike as one of the best episodes in years. According to Reedus, viewers have even more to look forward to in the season finale.

"I will say visually the last episode is nothing like you've ever seen on The Walking Dead before. It's completely different. It was so fun to shoot. It's a different look, 1000%, in the end. It's a huge, visually explosive episode that's going to be visually stunning... There are some personalities at the very end that get wrapped up in a certain way, like you think a person's far to the left and they end up far to the right. We ended on a way that's kind of The Great Escape. It's not a wrap-it-all-up-in-a-bow episode. It's definitely a moving forward sort of vibe. It's just huge."

The network has already renewed the show for season 10, so we're, at the very least, getting one more season. They've also got plans for a trilogy of movies starring Andrew Lincoln as Rick Grimes, as well as another spin-off series in development. The Walking Dead season 9 finale airs this Sunday on AMC. This news was first reported by Entertainment Weekly.