Posted in: AMC, Fear The Walking Dead, Preview, TV, Walking Dead | Tagged: amc, fear the walking dead, opinion, The Walking Dead, the walking dead: daryl dixon, the walking dead: dead city, the walking dead: the ones who lived

The Walking Dead: Monument Day Has Us Thinking About TWD's Future

In honor of Monument Day ("The Day The World Ended"), we take a look at some interesting ways AMC's The Walking Dead universe could expand.

On Friday, August 27, 2010, the world as we knew it changed. Three days after the Wildfire Virus became a global pandemic that would reanimate the dead, society collapsed. Eventually, Martial Law would be implemented to attempt to deal with the rioting and unrest – with Operation Cobalt being unleashed two weeks later. The impact of that military campaign and the decisions made during it on major urban areas (like New York City) was evident in the recent Jeffrey Dean Morgan & Lauren Cohan-starring The Walking Dead: Dead City – eventually leading to the collapse of the government. But that day – when the world first began to burn – is the day that's remembered & honored as Monument Day. While AMC & AMC+ is marking the occasion by urging fans to go back and watch their favorite episodes from the TWD universe's history, we're going to use the occasion to look toward the future of the franchise's universe.

Obviously, the future is looking pretty bright. We have a second season of "Dead City" having been given a green light, the premiere of the Norman Reedus-starring The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon set for next month, the final run of Fear the Walking Dead set for October, and the 2024 debut of the Andrew Lincoln & Danai Gurira-starring The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live on the way (and that's not including digital series, video games, and other media). But we thought we would revisit some ideas we've had rumbling around about expanding the TWD's future in new & creative ways. And since we last did this, we got one thing we were looking for – with "Daryl Dixon" taking the action global.

"The Walking Dead: Universes": A "What If…?" audio drama series that explores how things might've gone if things were different. What if Herschel had lived? What if Daryl hadn't made a run at Negan and Glen lived? What if Maggie had killed Negan? What if T-Dog was able to get Merle free? So many options, and we already saw how fascinating it is to watch play out during Danai Gurira's last episode – when she joined Negan's Saviors instead.

"The Walking Dead": The Anime: I'm talking Powerhouse Animation Studios, Wit Studio, or a studio of that caliber because if you give it a Castlevania look with an early-season Attack on Titan vibe, you have a hit on your hands. Imagine either of those studios getting their hands on animating Beta's horde? And we would be all-in on an animated adaptation of Brian K. Vaughan and Marcos Martin's The Walking Dead: The Alien, which introduced us to Rick's brother Jeffrey.

"The Walking Dead" Goes "The West Wing" Crossed with "24": I'd love to see an Aaron Sorkin walk-n-talk crossed with a political thriller, detailing the years/months/days (depending on series commitment) leading up to when it all went south. There are still a ton of backstory possibilities that could be mined, and adding a little "conspiracy" to the franchise's mythology could work. We could get a better backstory on CRM, learn what led to the urban initiatives that saw Manhattan turned into an island prison, and things like that.

"The Walking Dead" Comedy Series… or Musical? In much the same way that Paramount+ looks to the lighter side of Starfleet with the animated comedy Star Trek: Lower Decks and dared to boldly go the musical route on Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, we could easily see the TWD universe going both routes. Are you seriously telling me that I'm the only one who sees the potential for a The Office or Parks and Recreation-style sitcom set at a growing settlement? Make it a dark comedy and set it within CRM. And as for the musical aspect of it… look. No one is saying that we're going to have breakdancing walkers but… breakdancing walkers would be kinda cool.

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