Report: Danai Gurira (Michonne) leaving ‘The Walking Dead’

Originally posted Friday, February 8, 2019 by RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com on his AJC Radio & TV Talk blog

Danai Gurira, who has played both tough and tender Michonne on "The Walking Dead" since 2012, will leave next season, according to an exclusive report on The Hollywood Reporter.

She is expected to be on the series only a few episodes season ten, the story said. "The Walking Dead" may use her in the three-film deal that Andrew Lincoln signed up for. In other words, the producers will maneuver some way to reunite both of them since Rick and Michonne were a couple before he was kidnapped.

Gurira has been able to leverage her “The Walking Dead” time to boost her career. She was a star in the “Black Panther” franchise and appeared in “Avengers: Infinity War.” She has also been a lauded playwright, receiving a Tony nomination for best play in 2016 with “Eclipsed.”

With Lincoln and Lauren Cohan's Maggie character off the main show, AMC needed Gurira to stick around as much as possible. (Maggie may come back at some point but Cohan is on an upcoming ABC show.)

The Hollywood Reporter said Norman Reedus (Daryl) and Melissa McBride (Carol), the two remaining show members left going back to season one, have signed lucrative multi-year deals.