Posted in: AMC, Preview, Trailer, TV, Walking Dead | Tagged: amc, carol, Daryl, maggie, michonne, negan, preview, Rick Grimes, spinoffs, The Walking Dead

The Walking Dead Team's Major Spinoff Updates (And Yes, More Carol)

As sad as we will all be to see AMC's The Walking Dead shuffle off the network's programming coil by the end of this year, there's still a lot more of the TWD universe on the way. The horror anthology Tales of the Walking Dead is currently airing, and Fear the Walking Dead (according to EW's cover profile article on TWD) is expected to return for its eighth season in 2023. And then after the long-running series wraps its final episodes, we have Norman Reedus' Daryl is 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. Now, thanks to that EW profile mentioned earlier, we have some very informative updates on what viewers can expect from the spinoffs… 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."

Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!

Stay up-to-date and support the site by following Bleeding Cool on Google News today!