Danai Gurira Talks 'Walking Dead' Exit, as Scott Gimple Teases 'We're Not Completely Done with Her'

Danai Gurira is the latest star of "The Walking Dead" universe to shuffle into the sunset before any of us want them to, an announcement she made on Friday at Comic-Con. But that doesn't mean her costars have accepted it yet.

"I personally don't think about it," Melissa McBride said with a laugh at a press conference for the show yesterday afternoon. "It's out of my mind."

Norman Reedus added that he's always "begging her to stay" on the show, calling her an amazing person and actress. "She's such a strong character and such sweet lady, she's fun to work with," he added, "She shows up to set for a tiny scene with a notebook full of notes. I'm going to miss her as much as I miss Rick. She's awesome."

According to the cast, Danai is known for being a bit of a hype woman on set, something she inherited from Andrew Lincoln. Reedus added that he'll miss how "every morning in her makeup trailer, she blasts music," while Nadia Hilker (Magna) added she'll miss her "laughter, so much laughter."

"She'll be missed," chimed in Jeffrey Dean Morgan.

TooFab asked whether Danai had filmed her last episode yet, or how she was mentally preparing for that day. "I can't answer that," she said with a laugh. "But I will say this, the journey that [showrunner Angela Kang] and her team constructed for Michonne, I'm very very grateful for. You want to leave having put everything out there and they were so generous to me."

Another "unanswerable question": whether she's open to playing Michonne again, perhaps in one of the upcoming "Walking Dead" movies. "I'm open to playing Michonne," Ryan Hurst (Beta) joked, taking the heat off Gurira.

Scott Gimple, Chief Content Officer of "The Walking Dead" Universe, did give us a hint that maybe her last episode won't be Gurira's last outing as Michonne though. "She has some amazing things ahead of her and we're not completely done with her, I'll say that," he teased. "We're not completely done with anyone who comes and goes on the show. But she has some amazing things ahead."

During the presser, the "Black Panther" star also encouraged anyone coming onto the show after her to really take advantage of the series' "collaborative" mood.

She told them to not feel "like there's this gap between them and creative team, who are very collaborative, open doored and very interested in hearing their thoughts," she said. "There are environments perhaps where that is not encouraged, but that's not our world, not who we are as a family. I've never had a creative conversation that hasn't been beneficial."

"Maybe women out there, we don't feel we can find our own ownership and own stride in our characters and bring our thoughts and grapple with them and think about it with those who are our bosses," added Gurira. "That's an idea I encourage folks to embrace. That's who we are as a show, it's very special."

As for the last "unanswerable question" of the day, Gurira would not reveal why Michonne's seen holding Lucille at the end of the Season 10 trailer -- but simply said there's some "great storytelling" behind the shot.

"The Walking Dead" returns to AMC on October 6.