'The Walking Dead' star Lennie James is leaving to cross over to 'Fear TWD'

The Walking Dead‘s loss is Fear the Walking Dead‘s gain.

Lennie James is leaving the parent series behind after his Season 8 run to join the prequel series for Season 4.

James’ transition to Fear TWD was announced during Sunday night’s edition of Talking Dead. He starts filming Fear this Monday in Austin, Texas — just one week after wrapping TWD in Atlanta.

“Yeah, it’s me,” a self-described “surprised” James said to Chris Hardwick when he was revealed via satellite. “I’m joining the cast of Fear the Walking Dead.

“The hardest part of it… has been leaving The Walking Dead — leaving that cast, leaving that crew,” James, who was part of the original series’ pilot, added. But on Fear, “I’m really looking forward to exploring Morgan in a whole different world, with different characters, in a different place.”

In a statement, TWD EP Scott Gimple said, “Even though Morgan is going to be featured on Fear, he has a lot of story left on The Walking Dead. Morgan’s arc in Season 8 positioned him for the story on Fear. It was also important to see Fear‘s world and characters through new yet familiar eyes.”

This “crossover” of sorts was first teased at New York Comic-Con back in October, when TWD creator Robert Kirkman said that a big event was in the early stages of development.

“We want these shows to have their own legs, tell their own stories and be their own thing,” Kirkman said at the time. “I think we’ve finally gotten to a place with Fear the Walking Dead where it has its own identity [and] we can play with some things.”

Have at it, Walking Dead fans: Are you intrigued by the idea of Lennie James joining Fear TWD? Hit the comments below.

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