Things are wrapping up on AMC’s The Walking Dead, which will air its final batch of episodes later this year. But AMC has a network of spinoffs and sequel shows in the works to replace it, including one all about Norman Reedus’ character Daryl Dixon.
Originally, the as-yet-untitled spinoff was meant to follow both Daryl and Carol (Melissa McBride), but McBride opted out of the series. It’s unclear how this will impact the story they were trying to tell, but a show following Daryl sounds just as exciting. As long as Reedus is sticking around, I can handle the loss of McBride.
Speaking on Sirius XM’s Octane, Reedus opened up ever so slightly about the upcoming spinoff series. He seems pretty excited and is ready for the world to see whatever they’ve come up with.
Norman Reedus opens up about Daryl’s Walking Dead spinoff series
“I’m gonna go on a mission and I’m excited,” Reedus said. “It’s gonna be much different than [The Walking Dead]. I think it’s gonna look different. It’s gonna feel different. It’s kind of its own thing, you know, so I’m excited to get a hold of it.”
I’m glad to hear that Reedus is doing well. While filming the final season of The Walking Dead, he suffered a concussion on set. All seems to be well now, but things felt pretty scary there for a moment. I’m just glad he’s doing better and is ready to take on the spinoff series.
Reedus also shared that, as excited as he is about the series, he doesn’t have much control over how it will go, possibly a reference to when fans got on his case about McBride leaving the spinoff, as if he had anything to do with that. “People think I have all this power and I’m like… I really don’t. I’m just an actor for hire, really.”
The Walking Dead is infamous for not revealing its twists ahead of time. I’ve seen countless interviews on The Talking Dead aftershow where the cast says they’re not privy to information until they need to be. I guess that is the fun of a show like this, and what makes big moments even more special because the surprise is real.
Norman Reedus took his Daryl outfit home from The Walking Dead set
Meanwhile, back on the flagship show, Reedus talked to People about what he kept from set, which ended up being pretty big. “I walked out with my entire outfit,” he said “I just, I didn’t change clothes. I was hugging people and crying and saying goodbye to everybody that I just ended up driving home in my outfit. So I have all of it.”
That said, Reedus gave as much as he took…actually, quite a bit moreso. “I gave everybody these wrap gifts… these little special knives I had made,” he said. “It was sad and bittersweet.”
And the gifts were just the half of it. “There were a lot of tears and a lot of speeches,” Reedus continued. “They handed me the mic first and I was like, ‘Uh oh,’ because I was nervous… It was super emotional. I think what I’ll miss the most is the people, not just the cast, but the crew. You become very tight with the crew after that long. We’ve become really good friends and a lot of us still keep in contact.”
"It was sort of surreal when it was happening. It kind of hit me when I drove home. I take a certain way to my house in Georgia through the woods, and when I got to my gate, I was like, ‘Wow, I’m never going to take that route again.’ The sun was coming up [it was an all night shoot] and it kind of hit me in the car. I was like, ‘Wow, that just ended.’"
Then again, there are always ways to remember. “Maybe when I feel sad, I’ll just put on [Daryl’s] outfit and walk around downtown,” Reedus finished. “Nah, that would get weird.”
There is no premiere date as of yet for the Daryl Dixon spinoff series, but filming is set to begin this summer. If I had to guess, we might be looking at a premiere date of late next year.
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h/t Gamespot