Lauren Cohan Will Return to 'Walking Dead'
by EG
There had been significant doubt about whether Lauren Cohan, who plays Maggie on The Walking Dead, would return to the series next season. Cohan has a lead role in a new pilot on ABC, and she had reportedly been stuck in contract negotiations with TWD's producers. But now we know that Cohan will return to TWD next season, although she might not be a series regular.
Lauren Cohan's days as Maggie on AMC's The Walking Dead are not over.
The actress has confirmed that she is returning for the AMC zombie drama's upcoming ninth season, though it still remains to be determined if she will be a series regular or have a lesser role. Cohan put herself up for broadcast pilot season — booking the lead on ABC's Whiskey Cavalier — as she battled AMC over a better salary for season nine.
"I'm going back," Cohan told EW late Tuesday at CinemaCon, where she appeared to support her upcoming feature, Mile 22 with Mark Wahlberg. "There's a lot more Maggie story to tell."
The Hollywood Reporter has reached out to AMC for comment and will update this story if more information becomes immediately available.
Cohan recently signed on as the female lead in the ABC action drama pilot Whiskey Cavalier, starring opposite Scandal's Scott Foley. Sources tell The Hollywood Reporter that the network and Whiskey producers ABC Studios were amenable to allowing the actress to return to The Walking Dead in a limited capacity to potentially close out Maggie's storyline. Cohan's comments on Tuesday help solidify her return — in some capacity. Cohan's deal for Whiskey Cavalier does leave the door open for her to return to the series on a more limited basis should she and AMC close the gap and agree to a new deal. Walking Dead typically begins production on new seasons in the spring, when most broadcast shows have already wrapped.
Of course, things could change if Whiskey does not go to series and should Cohan and AMC come to terms on a deal for the actress to return. But given the months-long negotiation that promoted Cohan to make herself available for pilots, that seems unlikely at this point.
Get the rest of the story at The Hollywood Reporter.
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