'The Walking Dead' star Ross Marquand was 'very sad' to learn about the show's final season because they had just discussed plans for season 12 and beyond

• Ross Marquand said learning about "The Walking Dead's" final season hit him like a "ton of bricks."
• Marquand recently told Insider they had just been discussing plans for seasons to come.

Ross Marquand thought "The Walking Dead" still had miles to go when he learned the show's 11th season would be its last.

"Just a short time before we were talking about plans for season 12 and beyond," Marquand told Insider while promoting his partnership with The Sexton Single Malt and their new "The Walking Dead"-themed bottle.

Marquand said he was in Austria during the fall of 2020 when he received the call from series showrunner Angela Kang and "TWD" chief Scott M. Gimple.

"It was the most insane juxtaposition because it was one of the most picture-perfect sites I've ever seen in my life," Marquand recalled, noting that Kang and Gimple were "on the other side of the planet saying this is gonna be the last bit."

Marquand didn't say what the plans were that they discussed, but added that "they might not be visiting some of the stuff towards the end of the comic series."

Like other "TWD" cast members, Marquand, who has played Aaron on AMC's apocalyptic drama since season five, told Insider he "was very sad" to learn that the show would be coming to a close, but there was one thing that lessened the blow.

"I was buoyed by the fact that they were gonna be adding eight additional episodes and really telling the story the best way they knew how with this extra elongated season," Marquand said of "TWD" receiving 24 episodes for its final season instead of the usual 16.

"Based on everything they told me ... I was actually excited by the end of the phone call, as opposed to being very crestfallen at the beginning," Marquand added. "But yeah, it hit me like a ton of bricks when I first got that call."

You can read our longer Q&A with Marquand here and follow our ongoing coverage of "The Walking Dead" here.