Danai Gurira (Michonne) on her emotional last day on The Walking Dead set

After nearly eight years and over 100 episodes on The Walking Dead, the time has finally come for Danai Gurira to bid farewell to her beloved character Michonne, and to her colleagues. Of course, if you’ve been a key part of such large project for that long, you’re destined to get a lovely sendoff, which is how Gurira described her last day to Entertainment Weekly. “They did a lot of really cool things for me which I didn’t expect,” Girura said. “Norman [Reedus] organized this big fireworks display, which was really beautiful, and there was this really cool cake that was basically Michonne’s sword.”

Sword-shaped cakes and fireworks aside, Gurira explained how painful it was to have to say goodbye to everyone. “There was of course a lot of pain and saying goodbye and teariness, but it was such a free flow of love and that’s what sticks with me the most.”

At least it sounds like Michonne is going to go out with a bang. Another EW profile describes her filming a scene where she contends with around 20 zombies, slicing and dicing through them as only she can. Now, we don’t know exactly how Michonne is leaving the show, but we know enough to be nervous. The Walking Dead likes to kill off characters, and we’ve seen many fan favorites have to leave over the years. The most shocking death was Carl’s, whom fans always considered to be the future of the drama. In 2018, Andrew Lincoln made his final bow as Rick Grimes, although the character lives on. Lincoln also told EW that he was given a cake on his final day on set, except his was shaped like Rick!

Over the last few years, Gurira has been involved in some big projects outside The Walking Dead. Last year, she continued her role as Okoye in Avengers: Endgame, which became the highest-grossing movie in history! With The Walking Dead behind her, Gurira has time to pursue even more ambitious projects. Most notably, she has returned to writing — she began her career as a playwright — to adapt the book Americanah for HBO MAX. “With writing, I feel like I’m always going to find the thing I need to find,” she said. “But in acting, you need to find it within community, which can pose its own challenge. They’re both exhilarating and excruciating and that’s the beauty of storytelling.”

And that’s on top of more acting and a two-year content development deal with ABC Studios. Apparently, Gurira has Walking Dead Universe chief Scott Gimple “on speed dial” to walk her through the experience of running a show, although it sounds like her bosses are sure she’s got this. “Danai’s secret weapon is actually that she’s been on the other side of it,” Gimple said. “That will make her a uniquely talented showrunner, because of how she might work with actors. She’ll know what they’re thinking, she’ll know what kind of things they’re going through, and that’s a leg up on a lot of showrunners. She has this superpower in her pocket, essentially.”

Let’s hope Americanah proves to be a success. You can watch Danai Gurira in her final episodes of The Walking Dead season 10, airing Sundays on AMC. And and if you’re grieving, take heart: although Gurira is leaving the show, it’s possible this won’t be the final final time we see Michonne…

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