It was obvious they were going to save him, but I'm kinda glad they did.
A complete guess, but I reckon the three films that Andrew Lincoln will be in will either be set in another part of the US or more likely another country entirely, allowing them to be filmed in the UK.
Then once they are completed The Walking Dead, Fear and any other spinoffs will come together as a "new" series with Rick back to wrap it all up, so technically he wouldn't be returning to the original series so to speak.