Attention, "The Walking Dead" fans: Get ready for a world without Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln).

Since its debut in 2010, Rick has been front and center in the battle for survival against the zombies and the humans out to hurt him and his family. But the guy is no superhuman being.

Given the show's penchant for introducing characters and then killing them off after the commercial gap, it's still a possibility that Rick might one day meet his maker. Both Lincoln and executive producer Robert Kirkman believe that this could happen and that the show can go on without its leader.

Lincoln's recent interview with Entertainment Weekly revealed some clues as to how this development could go about. While fans may be up in arms about the possible shift of point of view, Lincoln welcomes this possibility and said this would be a good way to introduce his son Carl (Chandler Riggs) to take on the mantle of leader.

"It's a beautiful set up for that — for the camera to be certainly his story, and then it just shifts off. If ever there was a landscape or an environment to do that, it's our show. But whether or not that's this season... well, you have to find out, don't you?" he added.

Kirkman, who penned the comic book from which the series is adapted from, also believes that "The Walking Dead" can go on without Rick. He stressed that the Grimes family is not the only leading characters on the show.

He explained that Lincoln has been phenomenal in his role, but the show also has a strong ensemble cast and there are a lot of characters that could carry Rick's fight. He continued that "The Walking Dead" is a story very much about a world and a group of people trying to survive.

"The Walking Dead" comes back for its eighth season on Sunday, Oct 22, at 9 p.m. EDT on AMC.