SDCC 2019: Will Fear the Walking Dead cross over with new TWD series?

Will the new TWD series crossover with Fear the Walking Dead? Scott M. Gimple shared some keen insight on the matter during San Diego Comic-Con.

San Diego Comic-Con provided a great deal of insight about the future of The Walking Dead Universe for fans. During the Fear the Walking Dead press conference, AMC’s Chief Content Officer Scott M. Gimple talked about the possibilities of a crossover between Fear the Walking Dead and the new TWD series coming in 2020.

There was a lot for fans of The Walking Dead to take in during the Hall H panels at SDCC between news of Fear the Walking Dead’s season 6 pickup, Danai Gurira’s season 10 departure and the announcement that the Rick Grimes movie will debut in theaters.

Behind the scenes during the Fear the Walking Dead press conference, members of the media had a chance to ask questions of the cast and crew. Gimple was asked whether or not there could be a crossover between the new TWD spinoff and Fear the Walking Dead in the future.

Here’s what Gimple had to say:

"Right now we’re trying to get [the new series] on its narrative feet before any crossover stuff happens. But it’s certainly a possible thing for the future. To [the] timeline question, there are some interesting aspects as to when that occurs as well. We have different things happening in The Walking Dead world. At one point it might all catch up with each other but we’re telling different sides of the story."

There’s a ton to unpack in that statement.

Clearly there’s no plan to confirm a crossover, but it’s noteworthy that the approach this time around is not to deny one, either. When Fear the Walking Dead was announced AMC vehemently shut down plans of a crossover with The Walking Dead, but obviously times have changed.

When it comes to the matter of the timeline, given that Fear the Walking Dead is at least six years behind The Walking Dead there’s a chance that the timeline of the new show could more easily align with Fear than TWD. With so many younger actors on Fear the Walking Dead, it would be very interesting to see how a crossover might work with the new series as it focuses on a younger generation of survivors.

Lastly, though, the idea that everything in The Walking Dead universe could come together at some point is the juciest tidbit of all. So far the stories of survival have been drastically different. The Walking Dead started out with Rick Grimes waking up over a month after the apocalypse started. Fear the Walking Dead started in the beginning, showing how the undead rapidly took over Los Angeles in the early days of the outbreak. The new show will feature youngsters who grew up in the apocalypse and don’t know what the former world was like.

Imagine having the characters come together at some point in the future. It’s a tantalizing possibility.

The new TWD show debuts in spring 2020, so any possible crossovers are far off at this point. Still, knowing that The Walking Dead Universe is expanding and that characters could meet up at different points is enough to set fans’ imaginations racing.

Fear the Walking Dead returns for the second half of season 5 on August 11 and The Walking Dead season 10 premieres on October 6.