Norman Reedus: Daryl Dixon is a “whole new ball game” for The Walking Dead
By Ashley Hurst
The wait is finally over: The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon is upon us! Set in France with an all-new cast (besides Daryl, of course), this is The Walking Dead universe as we’ve never seen it before. Or as star Norman Reedus says, “It’s a whole new ball game.”
In the series premiere, Daryl washes ashore in France and wanders around the desolate landscape, searching for a way to get back home. Soon enough, he finds himself in an abbey run by nuns, including Isabelle (Clémence Poésy). The nuns have seemingly been awaiting his arrival, and he soon learns about Laurent (Louis Puech Scigliuzzi), a boy who they claim to be the messiah sent to return peace and prosperity to the world. It becomes Daryl’s quest to help deliver the boy across France to a place called The Nest where he can fulfill his destiny.
The new scenery is a culture shock for Daryl and Norman Reedus both. “I get to ride a whole bunch of stuff I’ve never ridden before, and use a whole bunch of weapons I’ve never picked up before,” Reedus told Entertainment Weekly. “It’s a whole new ball game.”
"The crew is different. The photography’s different, the acting style of the people I’m acting with are different, the writing is different."
Even the walkers are different. The series premiere introduced us to Burners, who leave an acidic burn on whoever they touch. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg where variants are concerned.
For the first time, the franchise employed dancers to play walkers. “The walkers that we have on this show, they’re all dancers,” Reedus explained. “They’re not extras, they’re dancers — so they bend and move in weird ways. It’s a combination of a horror film mixed with Cirque du Soleil. It’s insane.”
Norman Reedus is an executive producer on The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon
In addition to starring in the show, Reedus is just as involved offscreen as on. Like Lauren Cohan and Jeffrey Dean Morgan on Dead City, Reedus serves as an executive producer on the series. According to producer Greg Nicotero, he got really involved in the spinoff on every level. “Norman’s so committed,” Nicotero said. “He reads all the scripts, he comments on the cuts.”
"When we were casting Laurent, he went in and read with the kids. He is very involved and tremendously committed to making the show great. And I’m super proud of him. He wants the show to be great, and he knows that the fans have a lot of expectations."
So far, the series has gone down extremely well. Hopefully it stays that way. The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon continues Sundays on AMC.
dark. Next. Daryl Dixon show wants to feel like the early seasons of The Walking Dead
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