In 2024, beloved The Walking Dead characters Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) and Michonne (Danai Gurira) returned to action in The Ones Who Live. The six-part limited series was a huge success. A love story at its core, the series satisfied fans by offering up shocks (like Rick losing his hand), an emotionally-driven story arc, and an ending that put fans at ease after years of anticipation.
In the finale of The Ones Who Live, both Rick and Michonne returned home together after disappearing for several years, reuniting with Judith, R.J., and the rest of their family. The conclusion was entirely satisfying. Unlike both Rick and Michonne's previous exits from the series, The Ones Who Live left no cliffhangers. It was just about as happy an ending as anyone could expect from The Walking Dead.
With all of that said, fans are always keen to know whether the show will live on. I mean, this is The Walking Dead; the entire idea is that it's a zombie series that never ends. Former showrunner and current franchise overseer Scott Gimple has said as much in the past. Moreover, in a recent discussion with The Direct, Gimple reiterated that there are no plans to bring The Ones Who Live back: "The plan was to keep it limited."
Even so, he believes that it's entirely possible that characters from The Ones Who Live, including the main duo, could come back in a future project. "I mean the plan was to keep it limited. Not necessarily never to see those characters again, but to keep it limited. But I always say, you never know."
When it comes to potential Walking Dead shows, Gimple is very open-minded about the future direction of the series:
""There's so many... I've been very careful to not say, 'Oh, that'll never happen,' because it does. So you know, there are possibilities. And there's possibilities of all sorts of strange iterations of shows with those characters and with other characters. So you know I think it's entirely possible.""
The Walking Dead continues to grow and expand through a slate of exciting spinoff projects. Later this year, both Daryl (Norman Reedus) and Carol (Melissa McBride) will continue their European adventures in the third season of Daryl Dixon, heading to England and Spain. But before that, The Walking Dead: Dead City returns for its second season in May. Don't expect The Walking Dead to leave our screens anytime soon!
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