The upcoming spin-off from The Walking Dead featuring Norman Reedus as Daryl Dixon will be set in France – according to Scott M. Gimple, the Chief Content Officer for AMC’s The Walking Dead Universe. It’s a far throw from the days of roaming the woods of Georgia – and it’ll be a massive culture shock for one of the show’s longest-serving characters as he departs for Europe. Courtesy of a story from Comic Book, the series will take the archer overseas following the conclusion of the Season 11 finale in the autumn.
Gimple revealed new details of the Daryl spin-off during Talking Dead: The Walking Dead Universe Preview 2022 on Sunday (August 7) – which will debut in 2023 across AMC and AMC+. After confirming that the series would be set in France – Gimple added that the series would share a connection to the Variant Walkers first seen in the post-credits epilogue of The Walking Dead: World Beyond and “tease of some of the things Daryl is going to face.”
Gimple described Daryl’s character as “a fish out of water to start with. If Daryl finds himself with new people, he’s a fish out of water. In France, in a country that’s going through the apocalypse, [it’s] an entirely different thing,” Gimple added. According to Gimple, Daryl will have to “reinvent himself again, having to find himself again, and also, not being with — probably — the only people in the world he’s comfortable with.”
As GameLuster recently reported, Melissa McBride, who was set to star alongside Daryl in the spin-off – bowed out from the spin-off. The move to Europe was “logistically untenable” for the actress – who has starred in The Walking Dead since the beginning. Despite McBride’s exit from the spin-off, Reedus recently suggested that the apocalyptic besties could “meet back up at some point.”
The Walking Dead returns to AMC and AMC+ from October 2 – with the final eight episodes of Season 11 airing weekly and completing the trilogy. For more The Walking Dead content – take a look at FlickLuster’s review for the mid-season finale to Season 11B.
