Adapted from a comic book series by Robert Kirkman, The Walking Dead began in October 2010. Some 177 episodes and 11 seasons later, the original zombie-infested series has come to an end. With its finale, broadcasters AMC simply aren’t willing to let it lie, and already have big plans for the next steps in the franchise and world of The Walking Dead.
A fitting conclusion to TWD
Production for the last couple of seasons struggled as most did, but the final series, its new threat and the continued presence of zombies worked well. The series did, indeed, wrap up, and concluded the arcs of all of the remaining main characters. Importantly, though, it also left an open ending with its first lead, Rick Grimes (played by Andrew Lincoln), coming back to the screen.
Even before its finale premiering on AMC, the franchise expanded into a new realm of media. Now, the casino at Paddy Power Games has The Walking Dead Cash Collect front and center among its Paddy’s Favourites section. It comes loaded with the stars of the final season, including Daryl, Rosita, Negan, Carol, as well as Michonne and the wild zombies.
The Playtech slot was released mere days before the last episode, “Rest in Peace”, offering a top prize of 1,000x the bet. While it does show another line for the franchise, the focus will be on the spin-offs, some of which have already been released and are ongoing. Fear the Walking Dead is the main one, having started in 2015 and getting renewed for Season 8 recently. It’s already up to Episode 101.
Along with Fear the Walking Dead, AMC launched The Walking Dead: World Beyond in 2020, focussing on so-called “Endlings,” but was called to a close in December 2021. There was also the anthology series Tales of the Walking Dead, featuring Terry Crews, Olivia Munn, Daniella Pineda, and Julie Carmen, among others, but that only ran for one season.
On the way to The Walking Dead’s universe
One of the most pressing questions from fans is what happened to Rick Grimes? The story started with the sheriff, but he left the main series midway through Season 9. At the time, a movie was announced by AMC, but that pivoted into a series, and one that wouldn’t solely be on Rick. At the end of TWD, Michonne (played by Danai Gurira) was on the hunt for Rick, with the spin-off featuring the two set to commence filming in January 2023.
Perhaps the most compelling storyline and dynamic of the final season will also be given more legs in the universe. The Walking Dead: Dead City already has its first images of Negan and Maggie out in Manhattan and will arrive in April 2023. Given their history, it’s certainly a bizarre team-up, but one that promises intrigue for its scheduled six-episode run.
Also on the way is a solo series for arguably TWD’s lead following Lincoln’s departure. The show, with Norman Reedus reprising the role, sees the franchise finally explore overseas, with the Daryl Dixon show going to France. It was set to be a duo of Daryl and Carol, but now it’ll be the crossbow-wielding motorcycle rider leading the way in Paris.
The iconic series may now have finally met its end, but there’s plenty more to explore in the world of The Walking Dead, and AMC intends to go further than it ever had before by the looks of things.
Judy Nelson loves writing but tries to avoid the conventional formats. Through her blog posts, Judy inspires students to write more creatively. It is possible for them to fall in love with academic writing, as long as they approach it from a different angle.
