The Walking Dead star Andrew Lincoln has confirmed when the long-awaited Rick Grimes spin-off movie will begin filming.

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Lincoln left the long-running series two years ago, but news of a spin-off film have been discussed for some time.

Speaking to Extra, Lincoln gave a further update on the project saying “With good intentions – and if everything works and I can leave my country – I plan to be back in America filming in spring/summer.

You can watch the full interview here:

Lincoln had previously said the team is still “working on it” and also shared a memory of being approached by a fan to reprise his role.

“All I heard was, ‘Come back, Rick,’” he said, “It was so moving. I turned around, and I just went, ‘We’re working on it.’

“So that’s my answer to you, we’re working on it.”

Lincoln recently joked that his exit from the show was “a terrible decision” as his children miss Georgia, where the show filmed, too much.

“He goes, ‘Take me back there!’ I came back home for the kids, and now they’re sick of me, and I wish I’d never left,” Lincoln said. “It was a terrible decision.”

Six new bonus episodes of The Walking Dead will be airing at the end of February to round off the previous season, which was delayed due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

The show’s eleventh and final season will then arrive next year.