Chandler Riggs college dreams caused the internet to overreact about his character’s fate in The Walking Dead Season 7.
Riggs, who plays Carl on the show, was accepted into Auburn University, which isn’t out of the ordinary for a 17-year-old kid who’s thinking about his future. What really caused a stir was a Facebook post his father shared about Riggs having “freedom.” It wasn’t long before a few fans of the show took the post to mean Carl would die in The Walking Dead Season 7.
Well, one Walking Dead cast member commented on the Carl death rumors during an interview with The Huffington Post.
”I think Carl is the future of the show,” Payne told HuffPost. “I mean, is the future of the comic books, I think.”
“At the end of the day, I think Carl is the guy at the end on the last page,” he continued. “And I don’t know if they’ll go that way on the TV show, but I think it would be a logical place for them to go.”
There are ways to get around Carl’s potential absence in the show. In the comics, Carl leaves Alexandria for The Hilltop to become an apprentice blacksmith. Michonne also leaves for extended periods of time to go fishing. It’s possible they can send Carl off on an extended trip.
Worst-case scenario, they kill off Carl. Let’s be real, Carl isn’t an important character in the series anymore. You can argue that the comics follow Carl’s story more than Rick’s, but that’s definitely not the case for the show. The kid survived two gunshot wounds! If he dies, his death better be an epic one.
What do you think about Carl potentially dying in the series? Do you think Carl’s death might be used to force Rick into going to war with The Saviors? Let us know in the comments below. The Walking Dead Season 7 airs Sundays at 9 p.m. on AMC.
