'The Walking Dead' creator Robert Kirkman said he's very involved in the Rick Grimes movies and talks to Andrew Lincoln 'quite frequently' about them

• A series of "The Walking Dead" movies were first announced in 2018.
• During his own virtual SDCC panel, "TWD" creator Robert Kirkman gave a small update saying he's very involved in the upcoming movies.
• "I've been very hands-on with shaping that story and making sure that things are on the up and up," said Kirkman.
• During a conversation with Comicbook.com, "TWD" universe chief creative officer Scott Gimple teased we may see a different side to Rick in these films.

"The Walking Dead" creator Robert Kirkman has been working very closely to help the Rick Grimes movies come to fruition.

"I am very involved in those," said Kirkman in response to a fan question during his own San Diego Comic-Con virtual panel on Friday. "I'm talking to Andrew Lincoln quite frequently."

"TWD" universe chief creative officer Scott Gimple Gimple first announced a series of three "TWD" movies with Rick Grimes after Lincoln's departure from the show in November 2018. Since then, we haven't heard much about the films.

In July 2019, we learned Universal Studios will release the first "Walking Dead" movie.

Kirkman said he hasn't been very open about his work on the movies previously, but that he's been working with producer David Alpert, Gimple, Universal, and AMC to get the film "in shape."

"It's very important to us that these movies are spectacular," said Kirkman. "I think that to have Andrew Lincoln reprising his role as Rick Grimes is a very special thing and if we were to do these movies in any way that was in any way lackluster, I think would be a disservice to him, a disservice to the character of Rick Grimes, and a disservice to the fans."

"I've been very hands-on with shaping that story and making sure that things are on the up and up," he added, saying the combination of that and the pandemic are why we haven't heard much lately about the films. "We're all working very hard to bring you the best possible movie."

It's not just Kirkman who is involved in these films.

During a conversation with Comicbook.com's Brandon Davis, Gimple said that star Andrew Lincoln is very involved in production process as well and that the pandemic has given them extra time to really work on nailing the story.

"So much of what we've been doing has been honing and tweaking and experimenting and we're just in the lab with it," said Gimple. "We're still in the lab. Andy is super involved. He throws around the football with the rest of us. He's very, very invested in this."

Gimple hinted that the Rick Grimes fans see on screen may not necessarily be the same man we remember.

"Rick has a history and the history will be present within him," said Gimple when asked if these movies will be accessible for new audiences as well as longtime fans of the franchise. "It will be a big part of who he is, but it's likely going to be a very different rick that we see as well."

"New audiences will be like, 'Oh, that's the guy I want to discover that past history," Gimple added. "We, who know it so well, are like, 'Oh crap. That's the thing that's weighing on him from the past."

You can watch Kirkman discuss his involvement in the films below:

Catch Gimple speak with Comicbook.com here:

—ComicBook.com (@ComicBook) July 25, 2020

There is no set release date for "TWD" movies. For now, the delayed season 10 finale of "The Walking Dead" will air on AMC on October 4 at 9 p.m.

You can follow along with our "Walking Dead" coverage here.