A bombshell announcement in the world of “The Walking Dead” came just last night when it was reported that series star Andrew Lincoln (Rick Grimes) is apparently leaving the show in its upcoming ninth season, appearing in only six episodes before either being written or killed off. So where does the show go from there? How does it continue without its main character? Well, reports now suggest that Norman Reedus is being offered a ton of money to take over as the series’ lead; going forward, it’d be the Daryl show, rather than the Rick show.

THR reports that AMC is offering Reedus in the ballpark of $20 million to stay on and take Lincoln’s place as the series’ leading man. The site notes, “Sources say Reedus has already begun work on season nine in Atlanta as he negotiates his new pact, which, while it isn’t a done deal, is said to be worth north of $20 million.”

Reportedly, Lauren Cohan (Maggie) is also expected to be stepping away from “The Walking Dead” post-Season 9, as she begins a full-time gig on the new show “Whiskey Cavalier.”

With Angela Kang taking over as the new showrunner of “The Walking Dead” beginning with Season 9, we’ve been promised that big time changes are coming for the show, which are needed now more than ever. Season 9 is seemingly going to mark the beginning of a whole new era for the series, and the end of Rick’s story certainly doubles down on that.

Reedus’ Daryl Dixon has proven to be the show’s most popular character over the years, so shifting the focus to Daryl as the main character seems like a no-brainer to us. That said, we can’t help but wonder how much gas is left in this tank. With ratings declining and Lincoln stepping away, it would seem that the end is at least relatively near…