Jeffrey Dean Morgan Scheduling Conflict Limiting His The Walking Dead Episodes

With Season 8 of The Walking Dead destined to be the most explosive yet, it’s exciting to know that filming is well underway, having started back in May. With the promise of the “All Out War” storyline from the comic series, fans are expecting more bloody battles than ever before. However, some recent sightings — or lack thereof — have some worried that a certain Big Bad may have a smaller role in Season 8 than imagined.

Digital Spy have reported that Jeffrey Dean Morgan has been absent from the Senoia set of the show since the filming of Episode 1. Given that the show is apparently now filming Episode 5, this has had many wondering what exactly Negan will be doing in Episodes 2, 3 and 4.

Causing even more panic with fans is the fact that Dwayne Johnson’s new film, Rampage is currently shooting, in which Morgan has a role. But while we’ve seen photos of Morgan on the set of th e film, there’s no confirmation that his role in Rampage is big enough to take him away from his work on #TheWalkingDead.

Morgan’s absence from set seemps to have caused a panic, as Comicbook.com have pointed out, but there’s also the strong possibility that he has simply been filming inside the show’s studios, which are located in a private facility. This would particularly make sense if Negan were holed up inside the Sanctuary for the episodes in question, something that’s not entirely unlikely.

But Negan isn’t the only character whose future in Season 8 is uncertain. After recently giving birth to a baby girl, Christian Serratos (Rosita Espinosa) will likely have a reduced role in Season 8while she takes time out to spend time with her young family. Meanwhile, Danai Gurira (Michonne), will be appearing in Avengers: Infinity War, prompting fan fears that she may also have a lesser role in Season 8, though this is something which overall seems unlikely.

Deadline is reporting that Danai Gurira will be reprising her character Okoye from the upcoming Black Panther filmfor Avengers: Infinity War. Okoye was spotted briefly in the Black Panther teaser trailer alongside King T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman), and she serves as one of the Dora Milaje, the badass female warriors who serve the Wakandan royal family.

Danai Gurira is best-known from her role as Michonne, the sword-wielding badass warrior on The Walking Dead. However, recently, Gurira has been taking on more film roles; she will star as Afeni Shakur in the Tupac Shakur biopic, All Eyez On Me, which premieres on June 16, 2017.

With Gurira’s film career taking off, fans of The Walking Dead have begun to speculate that her busy schedule spells doom for Michonne in The Walking Dead Season 8. To be fair, given the enormity of the Avengers: Infinity War cast and the relative obscurity of her character, Gurira’s role will probably be small. However, her presence in the #MCUcould lead to her taking on more film roles.

The Walking Dead Season 8 is filming right now in Atlanta, Georgia – which is the same place Marvel Studio shoots the bulk of their movies – and it seems that Michonne is safe for now.

Despite their being no concrete proof that Gurira might leave the show, The Walking Dead fans are still concerned that Michonne might be in jeopardy, because we’ve seen plenty of actors leave their popular TV shows to pursue a film career. Some notable actors are: Robbie Amell from The Flash, Dan Stevens from Downton Abbey, Katherine Heigl from Grey’s Anatomy, and even George Clooney from ER.

We don’t know what the future holds for Michonne on The Walking Dead, but given the war that Rick and company are about to face, it appears that no character is safe from death. At least if Michonne does meet her maker in TWD Season 8, we will still get to see Danai Gurira flourish on the big screen, and kick ass in Black Panther and Avengers: Infinity War next year.

But while it’s all currently speculation about how much screen time characters may or may not have, we’ll likely have a better idea in a few weeks time at San Diego Comic Con. Traditionally Comic Con has been the place where The Walking Dead unveils its trailer for the upcoming season, and given that the show is working up to such a massive storyline in Season 8, fans should expect something great.