The Walking Dead is reaching the end, but the in-series universe continues to expand. However, according to series star Lauren Cohan (Maggie Rhee), her upcoming project “Isle of the Dead” was almost very different.
In an interview with ComicBook, Cohan revealed details of the spin-off with Maggie and Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), travelling to a post-apocalyptic Manhattan. “I know there have always been three, maybe four options for how Maggie would end up in a spinoff. For Maggie or Negan there’s been a bunch of ideas floating around,” the actress says.
“I think this story that Eli Jorne came up with, which is what we’ll be shooting for season one of Isle of the Dead, was just really powerful and such an interesting way for fans to get to see these characters continue.”
“Isle of the Dead” was officially green-lit by AMC in March, launching with a six-episode first season, focusing on Maggie and her arch-enemy Negan, the former leader of the Saviors as they travel through a post-apocalyptic Manhattan. Their relationship throughout the flagship series, to stretch the definition, is fraught.
Negan famously killed Maggie’s husband Glenn in the seventh season premiere. This culminated in an all-out war with the Saviors. In the years after, Negan redeems himself, at least slightly, and serves as a prominent figure in the Whisperer War.
Dan McDermott, president of entertainment and AMC Studios at AMC Networks described the series as “a very big day” for the show. He hailed “Isle of the Dead” as “another compelling series to this collection”, while it further “extends our storytelling around two unforgettable characters fans have grown to love, hate or hate and then love in Maggie and Negan, brilliantly inhabited by Lauren and Jeffrey.”
For more The Walking Dead content, check out last week’s review for “Trust”.
