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The Walking Dead: Norman Reedus Hints at Melissa McBride/Spinoff Plans

With only a little more than two weeks to go until AMC's The Walking Dead screens the first of the long-running series' final eight episodes, fans have already started thinking ahead to previously-announced spinoffs. When it comes to Norman Reedus' France-based spinoff, much of the early buzz has had a lot to do about who will (and now won't) be appearing in the project. Speaking with Variety after news hit that he would be receiving his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame later this month, Reedus explains (again) why Melissa McBride (Carol) was once a part of the cast but now isn't while offering hints that plans for the two might already be in play.

"How do you know she's not gonna come back?" Reedus offered in response when asked a question that was based on the assumption that McBride would not be involved, already getting the speculation fires raging. "The spinoff was announced before we even announced 'The Walking Dead' was ending. We always thought we were doing a show that would come back to the flagship show- we'd take off, then come back to the flagship show. Then they ended the flagship show, and it was us on our own. And then we shot for a year and a half straight, through the beginning of COVID. At that point, Melissa [McBride] wasn't going to do the show. And then she was going to do the show. And then she wasn't going to do the show. And then she needed a break, and I went on TV and said she needs a break. I'm telling the truth. It's always been the truth. But you don't know she's not going to show up on the spinoff, the actor continued before adding, "She's a very big part of Daryl's story. It's all gonna be OK."

As for the spinoff itself, Reedus sees it as a way of continuing to tell Daryl's story… wherever that may lead. "I feel like because he wasn't in the comic book, and they let me run with it, I want to bookend it. I feel like I birthed this child, and someone can't tell me when it's over. I want to see it either have a happy ending or not," Reedus explained. "That character, I got to really make it my own, and that felt great to collaborate. At first, they had me taking drugs and being racist and all this stuff, and I convinced them that, no, no, I want to have grown up with it and been ashamed of it."

On the heels of the oppressive presence of locusts, an even greater force is bearing down on every single member of each community. With Commonwealth flags raised at Hilltop, Alexandria, and Oceanside, there's no time to strategize for those on the road. It's a race against the clock to stay alive and extract those still living in the Commonwealth before Hornsby can execute his revenge.

Inside the Commonwealth, Connie's article has created more chaos than planned. By exposing the Milton's corruption, their hope to create a better, more equal, life for all may instead put everyone at risk. With the vast debt our group owes and no other viable place to live, simply leaving has never been an option. But if their next move fails, staying won't be an option either. What they're about to embark on will only invite more danger with massive consequences. The clock is ticking for our heroes inside the Commonwealth as well.

As each group continues to get caught in uncontrollable situations, threats lurk around every corner, dead and alive. The looming pressure is cresting towards a day of reckoning for all. Will the sum of their individual journeys cumulate into one, or divide them forever? The fight for a future continues to be exasperated by the ominous population of walkers. Not all will survive, but for some, the walking dead lives on…

Thanks to an EW profile that was released last week, we have some very interesting updates on what viewers can expect from the spinoffs. We have Reedus' Daryl heading off to France; Lauren Cohan's Maggie & Jeffrey Dean Morgan's Negan entering The Walking Dead: Dead City; and Andrew Lincoln's Rick & Danai Gurira's Michonne bringing an end to the franchise's biggest conspiracy. And some choice quotes that should make fans of Melissa McBride's Carol Peletier very happy.

Daryl Dixon/France Spinoff

With Reedus heading overseas for filming, the spinoff will have a connection to the end credits scene from The Walking Dead: World Beyond, which featured a video from Dr. Edwin Jenner (Noah Emmerich), a scientist killed over experiments on the walkers, and yet another sign that there are a lot more types of walkers than people realize.

Reedus On Wanting Show to Be "Opposite Direction" from TWD: "We knew we wanted to make a show that went in the opposite direction, just because we didn't want to do the same thing. And it's going to be way different. The story's way different. The characters are way different. There's a different tone, there's different light, there's a different sound. It's a whole different vibe. This is going to be f***ing epic."

AMC President Dan McDermott Offers a Few Hints: The series is set to "follow Daryl as he wakes up and finds himself somewhere on the European continent and tries to piece together what happened. How did he get here? How's he going to get home?"

The Walking Dead: Dead City

With filming underway in New Jersey on the NYC-set spinoff, Morgan and Cohan are sounding as enthusiastic as ever:

McDermott On NYC in TWD: The series will spotlight "Negan and Maggie's journey onto the isle of Manhattan, where the bridges and tunnels were blown up at the onset of the pandemic because the walker herd had just overrun the island and it's been left that way for 12 years. And so now it's a 2 million walker-strong herd that is dominating the streets and making it treacherous and dangerous."

Morgan Returned Because "The Story Was So Good": "If you had told me that a year ago that I would be doing it, I would've said, 'There's no way. I'm going to end this and walk away. I think that 'The Walking Dead' ending and walking away from it would've been a noble thing for us all to do. But the story was so good and so worth telling that it simply came down to, I couldn't say no. And I felt invigorated and wanted to continue it."

Cohan on How Series Lets Them Explore Some "Dark" Places: "The story that [showrunner Eli Jorné] has written lets us really go into the dark night of the soul in a way that you don't always get to do with a huge cast. When people say to me, 'Wow, you've been doing that show so long,' I say, 'And I hope I do it forever.'"

How "Excitement and Fan Mania" Surrounding Series Reminds Morgan of TWD: "There's been 200 people out to watch us film, which reminds me very much of how it was when I first got on 'The Walking Dead.' It was that kind of excitement and fan mania. And so to have that again, it's super cool."

Rick Grimes/Michonne Spinoff

One of the biggest surprises to come out of this year's San Diego Comic-Con, it's important to note that despite how the series has been talked about, AMC is not billing the project as a limited, one-season series.

McDermott Explains Why a Series Was Better Than a Film Trilogy: "It became clear the best, most epic story we could tell would be a multi-episode, six-hour long, epic love story about these two rediscovering themselves, reconnecting and setting off to reclaim their family."

Greg Nicotero on Why Having Rick Grimes (and Andrew Lincoln) Back Was Essential: "I think it's critical because Rick Grimes really is 'The Walking Dead.' It was his story. We started the story with him. So it made me realize that 'The Walking Dead' evolved into a lot of different things. All of them very entertaining, and all of them very powerful and very emotional, but the Rick Grimes of it really stands on its own. And I'm really excited about where that's headed."

So That Must Mean Rick and/or Michonne Will Be in the Series Finale… Right? Showrunner & EP Angela Kang offered, "I can't answer that question, but I appreciate you asking." And TWD CCO Scott Gimple was more brutally honest, adding, "I'd never tell you that in a million years."

And What About Carol's The Walking Dead Future?

While there was a whole ton of unnecessary social media drama surrounding the announcement that McBride would be unable to appear in the Daryl Dixon spinoff moving overseas, we really covered hints that McBride is far from done with the role. But based on what was released on Friday, those "hints" sound a lot more concrete.

Reedus Told You So, Haters! "Their journey's not over. They will meet down the road. You can pretty much bet all your money. I read all these people whining about it, and I have to just keep my mouth shut, but there will be a lot of foots in a lot of mouths at some point."

Gimple Has Some More "Cool Carol Stories" in Mind: "We will be telling stories with each of them moving forward. I've never stopped talking to Melissa about this. I'm thrilled at the idea of it, and I'm very optimistic for the future of telling some cool Carol stories."

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