A 'Walking Dead' star hints that the end of the show may depart from how the comic ended

• The end of "The Walking Dead" may not follow the end of the comic series it's based upon.
• Ross Marquand told Insider they "might not be visiting some of the stuff towards the end of the comic."

If you think you know how "The Walking Dead" will end its 11-season run, think again.

Ross Marquand told Insider that the end of AMC's apocalyptic drama may veer from creator Robert Kirkman's comic ending.

"They might not be visiting some of the stuff towards the end of the comic series," Marquand told Insider recently.

When we asked if they may be shortening the rest of the comic series, Marquand, who has played Aaron on "TWD" since season five, said he didn't think they were.

"I don't think they're rushing anything and I certainly don't think they're truncating anything except for the stuff towards the end of the comic series," he said.

Perhaps we're not getting the 25-year time jump from the last issue of the comic on the series finale

The final issue of "The Walking Dead," released in July 2019, jumps forward in time 25 years after Rick Grimes' death.

The dead are all but gone and the comic focuses on Rick's grown son, Carl, who has married Carol's daughter, Sophia. Together, they share a daughter, Andrea, named after Rick's second wife in the comics.

Glenn and Maggie's son, Hershel, has sadly become a pretty vile human who uses the remaining dead in a circus show. He has a massive quarrel with Carl in the final issue when the two disagree on the dangers of him parading around the dead.

Based on Marquand's comments about the show focusing on material up until the end of the comic, we wouldn't be surprised if the show is skipping the 25-year jump altogether.

Why?

For one thing, Carl and Sophia died a long time ago on the series.

It also felt largely unsatisfying that Hershel, the son of fan-favorite Glenn who's named after another fan favorite, would become, more or less, a spoiled brat and an antagonist to Carl in the final issue of the series.

You could always replace Carl with a grown Judith, but it seems like there's a more interesting story for the show to close on: The search for Rick.

The end of 'The Walking Dead' series will likely set up the first 'TWD' movie

It wouldn't make sense for the show to skip ahead 25 years into the future when Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) is still missing in the world.

"The Walking Dead" fans have been on high alert recently after a photo circulating online suggested that Lincoln is in Georgia with Norman Reedus, who plays Daryl Dixon on the series, as the show's cast is working on the series finale.

Fans are wondering if Rick will appear or be teased during the finale in some way, setting up the first "TWD" movie, which was first announced back in 2018.

"TWD" director of photography Duane Charles Manwiller recently shared a photo on Instagram of Daryl along with Rick's familiar Colt Python. Manwiller labeled the image as a "frame grab" along with the words "Finale Season."

We've previously seen Rick's adopted daughter, Judith, with her dad's gun after his absence on season nine.

What reason could Daryl have to be holding the familiar gun? Maybe Virgil or Judith will finally tell Daryl that Michonne went off in search of Rick and Daryl decides to follow suit.

We'll have to wait to see if Rick's whereabouts will be hinted at as the final season continues.

You can follow along with our ongoing "TWD" coverage all season long here.