- “The Walking Dead” cast was at New York Comic Con Saturday for its annual panel at the event.
- Andrew Lincoln brought a child on stage during the event who was dressed up as his fictional character’s son, Carl, on the series.
- Lincoln was moved by the sign the boy held and it drew a big reaction from the audience in attendance.
- The actor then realized the boy was the same one he brought on stage last year at NYCC.
“The Walking Dead” cast and crew came together Saturday at New York Comic Con to bid Andrew Lincoln farewell as season nine kicks off the actor’s final episodes as Rick Grimes.
INSIDER was in attendance and one child inside the packed Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden caught Lincoln’s attention for a very special tribute to Mr. Grimes.
“There’s a little kid down there. Could you stand up please?” Lincoln asked in the middle of the annual “Walking Dead” panel.
“He’s dressed as Carl with angel wings,” he told the crowd to a giant reaction of “Awww.” “Look at what the sign says.”
Lincoln had the child brought up on stage so the crowd could get a better look along with him. Carl is the name of Rick Grimes' son on "The Walking Dead." He was killed off of the show on season eight.
"What does it say?" he asked the little boy.
"See you soon, Dad," he replied, suggesting Grimes will be killed off of the show.
Underneath the sign was a "maybe" in parentheses.
The crowd could not handle the young boy reading those words out loud as they audibly became emotional.
Lincoln then realized he had met that child before.
"This kid was the zombie with the spikes on him at the last Comic Con," Lincoln told the crowd to an uproar of cheers. "What's your name?"
"Matthew, you're amazing," he added.
Anyone who was in attendance Last year, Matthew dressed up as a walker Rick fought inside the Scavenger junkyard on the series. He went up on the NYCC stage last year and Lincoln posed with him for a photo.
Matthew's sign on this year's costume suggests Rick may be killed off the series, but that may not occur on the show. "The Walking Dead" creator Robert Kirkman reiterated to fans on Thursday at NYCC that although he plans to kill Rick off in the comics, the show may handle Grimes' fate differently.
Earlier in the evening, the cast and crew of "The Walking Dead" walked out on the Hulu Theater stage wearing Rick Grimes' iconic sheriff hat.
Lincoln confirmed in July at San Diego Comic-Con he'll leave the show after nine seasons this year to spend time with his family back home in London. Executive producer and the show's makeup effects supervisor Greg Nicotero told us he directed Lincoln's final episode, the fifth of the season.
"The Walking Dead" returns to AMC Sunday at 9 p.m.
You can follow along with our "Walking Dead" coverage all season long here. Sign up for our "Walking Dead" newsletter, which will be sent every Monday morning throughout season nine, here.