The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon season 4 won't premiere until 2027, but the first look teaser for the new season revealed a new character that could hold the answer to where this story is going in the show's final season.
AMC announced Jimmy Smits will star in Daryl Dixon season 4 alongside Norman Reedus and Melissa McBride. In The Walking Dead spinoff, Smits will be playing "Captain Alejandro Perkins, a former U.S. Navy officer and medical doctor who found a unique way to thrive during the apocalypse," according to the AMC press release.
In the teaser, Daryl (Norman Reedus) wakes up in some kind of hospital after getting injured. When he opens his eyes, Smits is standing above him, and he says, "Welcome home, son."
Before we dive in, check out the 21-second teaser for Daryl Dixon season 4 so we're all on the same page.
Why Captain Perkins will be a major part of Daryl Dixon season 4
There's still so much we don't know about Captain Perkins and his character. We know that he's a US Navy officer and a doctor. That's interesting. We also know that he found a "unique way to thrive" during the outbreak of the Wildfire Virus.
My initial thought is that it's going to be something seriously messed up that Perkins is involved in. It looks like Daryl is safe and healing up, but he might be in more danger than he's ever been before. There's just something super unsettling to me about this character. I'm not sure where it's going to lead exactly, but I have a bad, bad, bad feeling about him.
So, that's my initial reaction to the character, but there are some interesting things to think about with the inclusion of a US naval officer in season 4.
First of all, Daryl and Carol are stuck in Spain. They've been trying to get back to America for a bit, but that hasn't happened for a few reasons. By including the US Navy in this story, Daryl Dixon might have just introduced the way that Daryl and Carol make it back to the US.
What if Perkins has a functional ship to head back to the United States? What if Daryl and Carol leave Spain and they're saved by a US Navy ship, which then brings them back to America?
There are so many possibilities, but it really seems like there is going to be some type of American reunion in Daryl Dixon season 4 based on this short teaser.
Everything is pointing to Daryl and Carol making it home
Of course, we don't know much about Daryl Dixon season 4, and we'll be waiting until 2027 to see the final season, but it really feels like everything is starting to point toward Daryl and Carol heading for home in Daryl Dixon season 4.
They've tried a couple of times, as I mentioned, but now, we have something concrete that seems to suggest a clearer path to make it back to America. I can't think of another reason why we would have the literal US Navy popping up in season 4 if it's not going to be a fast track for Daryl and Carol.
On top of that, and this is cheating a little bit because it's outside of the structure of the show, we know there are already talks for other Walking Dead shows including Reedus as Daryl Dixon.
Dan McDermott, the CCO at AMC, revealed in an interview with The Ankler this summer that they're in talks to keep Reedus playing Daryl Dixon beyond season 4.
"We are in active discussions with him right now about what we should and can do for the next iteration of a story in the Walking Dead Universe for Daryl Dixon."
Could that just be some creative posturing from McDermott? Potentially, but I really do think that Reedus is such a big star for the network and the franchise. Letting him just walk away would be a massive mistake.
There's also so much chatter about this big reunion series that would bring all the original stars of The Walking Dead whose characters are still alive back for one more ride. We're talking about Andrew Lincoln, Danai Gurira, and Lauren Cohan, in addition to Reedus and McBride.
We'll keep you posted on more news about that and Daryl Dixon season 4. The final season of Daryl Dixon hits AMC in 2027.
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