How Will Walking Dead Be Impacted by Sasha Actress' Star Trek Role?

Given the level of secrecy on a show like AMC’sThe Walking Dead, even seemingly-unrelated casting announcements for different shows have an impact on the zombie series. Last month, CBS All Access announced thatSonequa Martin-Green, who plays Sasha onThe Walking Dead, has been cast as the series lead onStar Trek Discovery, marking the first time an African-American female has been given the lead of aStar Trekseries, and the first time that the lead character won’t be a captain. This announcement had many fans scratching their heads as to what this could mean for her Sasha character onThe Walking Dead, which returns with the back half of Season 7 on February 12. Today we have some new insight fromSonequa Martin Greenand showrunnerScott M. Gimple.

As far asThe Walking Deadis concerned, Sasha is a unique character because she is one of the few that doesn’t have any roots inRobert Kirkman’s comics, so it’s difficult to gauge when she may be killed off.The Walking DeadSeason 7 has already wrapped, with filming onStar Trek Discoveryslated to begin this week. Since she’s the lead character onStar Trek Discovery, that likely won’t give the actress much, if any, time to split between the productions, if in fact she is coming back forThe Walking DeadSeason 8.Entertainment Weeklycaught up withSonequa Martin-Green, who wouldn’t offer a concrete answer about her character’s fate onThe Walking Dead.

“Well, I can’t say anything. I can say that the story is as impactful and powerful and dynamic as it always has been, and there’s nothing to worry about where that’s concerned.”

While Sasha isn’t based on one ofThe Walking Dead comic bookcharacters, one of her Season 6 storylines, her romantic connection to Abraham Ford (Michael Cudlitz), was mirrored in a comic book character named Holly. In the comics, after Abraham was killed, Holly sought revenge against Negan, as she ended up sacrificing herself at the Sanctuary to help the group escape. She was later brought back to Alexandria with a bag over her head, when it was revealed that she was actually a zombie, and she bit and killed Dr. Denise Cloyd, who was still alive in the comics. In the TV show, Cloyd’s character essentially took the same death as Abraham in the comics, getting an arrow right through the eye. And the bag over the head trick has already been used on the show. While it’s possible that Sasha’s fate could play out similarly to Holly’s, showrunnerScott M. Gimplewouldn’t say one way or another, although he did go on to praise starSonequa Martin-Green.

“Sonequa Martin-Greencan do anything. I’ve seen her battle a horde of walkers this year while simultaneously battling a stomach flu that would have had most people crying in the dirt. She can fulfill the duties of a Lieutenant Commander on a Constitution-class starship whilst battling walkers, Saviors, and whatever gets in Sasha’s way. We’ve had to juggle before. I will certainly juggle forStar Trekany day of the week. Okay, maybe not on Sunday.”

Despite the cagey answers from bothSonequa Martin-GreenandScott Gimple, there is a history of casting announcements foreshadowing the death ofWalking Dead characters.Jon Bernthal’s casting in TNT’sMob Citywas reported while he was still alive onThe Walking Dead, and confirmed by the network just one day afterThe Walking Deadepisode aired where his character Shane was killed in Season 2. The next season,Sarah Wayne Callieswas cast in the filmInto the Storm, while production was still under way, and she was eventually killed during that season.David Morisseywas also cast in an AMC pilot entitledLine Of Sightjust before his character The Governor was killed off, even though the network didn’t pick up the pilot. And, most recently,Steven Yeunstarted filming a new Netflix original movie entitledOkjaforBrad Pitt’s Plan B productions, whileThe Walking DeadSeason 7 was in production. Fans learned in the Season 7 premiere that his character Glenn was one of two characters killed by the nefarious Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), along withMichael Cudlitz’s Glenn.

However, there are exceptions, withCorey Antonio Hawkins' Heath remaining alive, seen briefly in a Season 7 episode after a long hiatus away while on a supply run in the show, which enabled him to star in Fox’s24: Legacy, which debuts next month after theSuper Bowl. There are also a few otherWalking Deadcharacters who are busy with other projects at the moment.Danai Gurira(Michonne) is currently filmingBlack Panther, whileLennie Jamesis creating and starring in a new U.K. TV series entitledGone. While it hasn’t been officially announced when production begins onThe Walking DeadSeason 8, filming typically begins in May, so, depending on how demanding herBlack Panthershoot is,Danai Gurirawill likely be wrapped on that Marvel movie before filming takes place onThe Walking Dead, although the production schedule forLennie James’Goneremains to be seen.