Norman Reedus: The Walking Dead spinoff about Daryl is “totally different”

The Walking Dead may be ending for good later this year, but the franchise will continue to live on through a slate of spinoff projects. One of the most anticipated will follow fan-favorite Daryl Dixon (Norman Reedus) as he makes his way to Europe on a mysterious mission.

The currently untitled “Daryl Dixon” show was originally going to include Walking Dead star Melissa McBride (Carol Peletier), but the actress ultimately dropped out as it would mean relocating to Europe for filming. McBride has been an integral part of the series for over a decade at this point, so she definitely deserves some time off.

Daryl’s motivation for leaving the group and traveling to Europe is currently under wraps. It would have to be something pretty big for him to go all that distance. “There’s gonna be a spinoff, and it’ll be me alone,” Norman Reedus said in a recent interview with Leo Edit. “And I’ll be on this mission, and those characters will come back together later on down the road, of course; and other characters that have gone missing, I’ll probably run into.”

Might he even run into the long-missing Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln)? Stay tuned.

The Walking Dead spinoffs are coming

The Walking Dead tends to have a bit of a formula, but Reedus promises that the upcoming spinoff is unlike anything else in the franchise:

"But the spinoff will look totally different from [The Walking Dead]. It’ll be completely different. And to be honest, you wouldn’t wanna do this show as a spinoff exactly the same by yourself, it’s terrifying."

Perhaps Daryl will meet the new zombie variant teased in The Walking Dead: World Beyond. The variant appears in France. Apparently the zombies there are faster and stronger than the ones we’re used to. That would definitely add an exciting new element to the series:

The solo spinoff gives Reedus a unique opportunity to further develop his character. “If you look back to my history on [The Walking Dead], I’ve just been fighting nonstop, like all I do is fight, fight, fight; I never get nice things,” he said. “You know, people are funny, they’re like, ‘I’ve never seen this show. Do you cry on this show?’ I’m like, can you f—ing… All I do is cry. All I do is cry and scream and fight. It’s all I do. It’s exhausting.”

The Daryl show does not have a release date yet, but it is set to premiere sometime in 2023. Next up in The Walking Dead universe is Tales of The Walking Dead, an anthology series that chronicles six one-shot episodes about new and returning characters; that will premiere on August 14 on AMC.

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