Before anyone else says it, let’s state the obvious: Unlike the zombies at its core, The Walking Dead’s universe is alive and well. In 2024, a Rick and Michonne spin-off has already graced TV, while season two of TWD: Daryl Dixon is currently airing on AMC. Meanwhile, Maggie and Negan-centric Dead City is gearing up for its sophomore run next year. This cash cow is going nowhere.
In fact, at the New York Comic-Con today, AMC announced that Dead City returns in spring 2025, and dropped a new teaser featuring series stars Lauren Cohan, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, and that barbed wire baseball bat Morgan roams around with all the damn time. The footage makes Manhattan look sufficiently post-apocalyptic, even though the city’s lights mysteriously seem to turn back on.
The spin-off teams up foes Maggie Rhee (Lauren Cohan) and Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) as they head off to the city that never sleeps to find her kidnapped son. Naturally, they’re forced to put differences aside, but can she truly forgive him for bashing her husband’s head so badly that his eye popped out when he died? (Sorry, I’m personally still not over it).
Dead City’s NYCC panel featured both actors, along with their co-stars Dascha Polanco, Željko Ivanek, and Gaius Charles, as well as Chief Content Officer of the Walking Dead Universe Scott M. Gimple. Morgan and Cohan both reflected on what it's been like to play their character for this many years, with Morgan noting how much Negan has changed: "There’s something to be said for anybody that’s still alive in the apocalypse. The fact that we have survived this long, including Negan, he’s figured it out. It’s meant a lot of different things over the years. He used to be all about in-your-face leadership and fear, but he’s changed. I admire his ability to adapt and read a room. Negan’s been a chess player. This year, he’s maybe not going to be able to do it as much though. I like that he has a soft spot for the younger generation and wants them to survive.”
Cohan, meanwhile, reflected on the central question around her character, i.e., why she hasn't killed Morgan's: "We’ve seen Maggie kill people and hordes of zombies and raise her son all at the same time. What I like about this season is there’s an element of how she’s worn blinders for a long time to get through insane situations, and amidst that, she has not killed one person who is the source of so much unrest. In so many ways, the best is yet to come for what it takes to find inner strength, constantly face a nemesis, and try to understand why one doesn’t take the easy road. This season, she makes a lot of mistakes."
Oh, and yes, Morgan has, in fact, heard your complaints about Negan killing Glenn: "Everyone dead on this show is doing great in real life, by the way. Some of them have won major awards and have been nominated for an Oscar," he wryly noted.
The other TWD-land panel was for Daryl Dixon, which is currently airing a surprisingly enjoyable second season. The new episodes are all about Daryl (Norman Reedus) and Carol’s (Melissa McBride) inevitable reunion in France—yes, you read that right, they’re in Normandy. And soon they’ll head to Spain in season three, as announced during the San Diego Comic-Con.
Daryl Dixon’s NYCC panelists included Gimple, Reedus, and McBride, who were joined by actor Louis Puech Scigliuzzi, EP’s David Zabel, Greg Nicotero, and Dan Percival. There was a lot of conversation about McBride joining the series, which she also serves as an executive producer on, but also a lot of glee at getting to do stuff like trash the Louvre. Per Zabel: "It was on our wishlist. It took a year of planning. The villain Genet’s story evolved out of how we can use the Louvre before and after the apocalypse."
As for that big reunion, which fans will have to wait a while to receive, Reedus was confident in its impact:
“We did it right, when it happens, when the one person in the world he needs is right there, as corny as that sounds. The thing about their relationship, when we started TWD, it was about Rick and his journey. These two characters were always watching out for each other in the background and then it got bigger and bigger. They always bonded. They come from a history of abuse so they've got each other’s backs. So when you see them reuniting this season, it’s earned. The bond is so strong, you can feel it."
In terms of the future, the cast and crew were mostly mum, although Gimple did tease that "We have something very different cooking up in another area of the world. There’s something relatively imminent.” The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon—The Book Of Carol airs its finale on November 3 and production is already on for season three.
