2022 is going to be a momentous year for The Walking Dead. After 11 seasons and more than a decade on the air, the mainline show will be ending this year. The middle eight episodes of the “Final Season Trilogy” begin airing on AMC on February 20, with the final final eight episodes expected coming along later. Beyond that, we’ve got more episodes of Fear the Walking Dead coming on April 17, and the brand new spinoff Tales of the Walking Dead expected to drop sometime in the summer.
Unlike its sister shows, Tales is an anthology series, meaning that each episode will tell a self-contained story about different characters. Personally, I’ve always found The Walking Dead to be at its strongest when it’s doing more focused one-off stories, like the season 4 episode “The Grove,” so Tales of the Walking Dead sounds exciting.
Of course, this gives AMC room to bring back whatever characters they want. And the rumor mill is churning about who’s getting the invite.
Alpha rumored to appear on Tales of the Walking Dead
Per The Illuminerdi, there are rumblings that Alpha, played by Samantha Morton, may feature as a central character for one of the six episodes in Tales of the Walking Dead season 1. For fans of the series, Alpha hardly needs an introduction; she was the leader of the Whisperers, a savage cult-like group of survivors who wore the faces of Walkers like masks and herded them around, sowing terror wherever they went. The Whisperers were one of the weirder groups to come to blows with our heroes, but there’s no denying that Morton totally owned the role.
The Illuminerdi reports that their sources have found out Tales of the Walking Dead is currently casting for an episode centered around Morton’s character. They’re also looking to cast a woman in their mid-20s to play a new character named “Hailey.” Here’s the description they’ve got for her:
"Hailey is intelligent, powerful, striking, and Type A. Formerly the manager of a gym and exercise instructor, she is a natural leader and wants everything to be in order with everyone taken care of. While admired by many she is inclined to overstep. Hailey has a maternal nature which is most prominent around children. However, she has a tendency to be too trusting due to her overconfidence."
We all know how getting overconfident around Alpha tends to go. If this rumor pans out, this new character may have a short run.
As with any rumor, we need to give the disclaimer that this is not an official announcement from AMC or the team behind Tales of the Walking Dead. Until we get something from the network itself, we’re keeping our usual grain of salt handy.
The Walking Dead season 11b premieres February 20, although you catch watch the episodes a week early if you have the AMC+ app. Tales of the Walking Dead is set to debut this summer.
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