'The Walking Dead' showrunner and executive producer weigh in on Danai Gurira's possible return next season

Danai Gurira is currently in contract negotiations to return to "The Walking Dead" for its recently announced tenth season.
INSIDER asked showrunner Angela Kang and executive producer Greg Nicotero whether or not they're hopeful for her return while discussing the show.
Neither gave us a straight answer, with Nicotero telling us there are "lots of plans in place for all kinds of different scenarios," alluding to the show having several options whether or not Gurira returns.

" The Walking Dead " is returning to AMC Sunday for the rest of season nine, but currently much of the fandom has another question on its mind: Is another one of its main stars going to leave the zombie drama?

That's been the question on many fans' minds this week as Danai Gurira , who plays katana-wielding Michonne, is currently in talks for a new deal to return to the zombie drama, according to The Hollywood Reporter . Gurira's contract previously ended with season nine.

INSIDER caught up with both executive producer and makeup supervisor Greg Nicotero and showrunner Angela Kang Thursday to discuss the mid-season premiere and get some insight on Gurira's status with the show.

"Yeah, listen, of course," Nicotero told INSIDER of being hopeful of Gurira's return next season on "The Walking Dead." "For me, it's always important to maintain some integrity from season to season of these characters that we're invested in and we've fallen in love with."

danai gurira walking dead season 9 episode 12 Gene Page/AMC

"There's a lot of great characters that are still on the show and there's a lot of characters that left the show that I miss," he continued. "But I'm pretty confident that there's lots of plans in place for all kinds of different scenarios."

When asked about the actress' status with the show, Kang told INSIDER, "I'll just say Michonne is obviously a huge part of the story of 'The Walking Dead.' We absolutely love Danai. Anything that's contract-wise, that's for people to work out, but we have a lot of exciting stories to tell with her going forward. We're thrilled for what's in store for her. That's as much as I can say right now."

Some of what's in store should include revealing how Michonne, Daryl, and more wound up with those mystery "X" marks on their backs. Kang previously teased to INSIDER we'll learn more about their dark origin in the back half of season nine .

michonne scar x walking dead Gene Page/AMC

Since joining "The Walking Dead" on season three, Gurira has become a breakout star in Marvel's Cinematic Universe. In 2018, she starred in two of the biggest films of the year, " Black Panther " and " Avengers: Infinity War. " The former is nominated for best picture at the Oscars, the first comic-book movie to have that honor .

black panther Marvel

If Gurira leaves "TWD," she'll be the most recent in a string of big stars to leave the show. In the past year, lead stars Chandler Riggs and Andrew Lincoln said goodbye to the show. Lauren Cohan's character Maggie is currently MIA as the actress has a new show premiering on ABC, " Whiskey Cavalier. "

Read more: 'Pay the woman': Khary Payton of 'The Walking Dead' calls out AMC for reportedly low-balling lead actress Lauren Cohan

"The Walking Dead" was recently renewed for a tenth season. Kang shared the announcement Monday on her personal Instagram account.

"If somebody would have told me 10 years ago, 'You guys are going to be starting your 10th year of doing zombie makeup and creating this post-apocalyptic show that has all these great twists and turns, I wouldn't even have been able to comprehend it," Nicotero said of the show's renewal. "It's a tremendous compliment to the cast. It's a tremendous compliment to the crew ... it's pretty great."

Kang said she's currently working on the show's 10th season. "The Walking Dead" returns to AMC Sunday at 9 p.m. You can read our spoiler-free review of the episode here .

You can follow along with our show coverage here .

An AMC representative told INSIDER it doesn't comment on contracts, and reps for Danai Gurira didn't immediately respond to our request for comment.