The season 2 finale of The Walking Dead: Dead City had a little of everything, from epic battles to heartbreak, but it was far from a proper conclusion to the story. The battle for control of Manhattan's methane still has many players. Both Maggie and Negan are still alive. And of course, Maggie's son Hershel remains under the thumb of the Dama.
The finale ended with a bizarre montage chronicling Maggie and Negan's adventures so far. It was a weird ending that came out of left field. For many fans, it felt conclusive. The last time The Walking Dead had a montage sequence like that was in the series finale of the original show. Are we supposed to take from this that Dead City is over, however many plotlines remain unresolved?
Not so fast. According to franchise head Scott Gimple, the hope is to continue Dead City into season 3. "I will say this, there’s so much more story to tell in my mind," Gimple told TVInsider. "But you know me, I can neither confirm nor deny those sorts of things, and it’s a wild world. We’ll see."
Even so, Gimple is satisfied that the finale managed to tie up a number of plotlines:
"Something had finally been achieved. Something that was a long time coming, and something incredibly difficult to get to. When I say finally, I’m not like, ‘Oh, this should have happened a long time ago.’ I don’t mean it like that. I mean it like, between these two characters, it was very difficult to ever think of any sort of [closure] and to sort of get there, you know, that’s a remarkable journey."
While Gimple can neither confirm nor deny that a third season is on the way, star Kim Coates (who's character Bruegel died in the finale) has already taken it upon himself to seemingly confirm it's happening. On X, he shared his appreciation for the opportunity. "Never gonna forget it," he wrote. "Dead City was a cool time. Enjoy the summer (if we can in this crazy world) and season 3 when it drops. Peace and love."
I doubt Coates has inside knowledge of whether season 3 is coming, but hey, it's a positive sign.
It feels like there's only so much story to cover between Maggie and Negan. How many more times can Maggie keep him alive? When does it become silly? That said, if Gimple and the team think they can dream up more stories between them, I certainly wouldn't be opposed. In the meantime, the third season of the other big Walking Dead spinoff currently running, Daryl Dixon, is due out on AMC this September.