Netflix's Stranger Things prequel offers the perfect blueprint for The Walking Dead franchise

Netflix is turning back the clock with its new Stranger Things prequel, Other Worlds: A Stranger Things Adventure. The new series will be set in 1955 in a town in Nevada, nearly three decades before Will Byers was taken into the Upside Down from his home in Hawkins, Indiana.

While I'm a bit skeptical about the plan for the most obvious Stranger Things prequel the Duffer brothers could make, it's the perfect blueprint for The Walking Dead franchise, which seems to be at a very important crossroads.

I know we all want to see Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) reunite with Daryl Dixon (Norman Reedus) and the rest of the survivors one last time, but a prequel series set decades before the Wildfire virus outbreak and thousands of miles from Atlanta could be the thing that rejuvenates a stagnant franchise.

The Walking Dead should go back in time for its next series

Since The Walking Dead's premiere, we've seen spinoffs of all shapes and sizes. Some have been very successful, including Fear the Walking Dead, The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon, and The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live, but there have been some misfires.

With Daryl Dixon ending with season 4 early next year and no current plans for what's next, The Walking Dead should look no further than Netflix's Stranger Things plan for its next move, and that's a prequel series.

With a prequel series, the stakes would have to be small enough for the government to cover up, but that's a very interesting story that I think could be an absolute banger of a series if The Walking Dead could do it right. Imagine a scenario where the virus breaks out, decimates a small town or remote community, and the government comes in, sweeps it under the rug, and then reignites much later around the world. That's the perfect way to craft a series, make fans care about it, and then move along to the next project.

Stranger Things is essentially just delving deeper into the lore and building out the backstory that set the stage for the original series. Again, I would love to see a much more ambitious attempt at a prequel than what Stranger Things is doing, but that's only because there's so much more to explore than the main story. With The Walking Dead, the franchise has basically squeezed all the life out of its original characters as they could. Sure, we could right some wrongs and get Carl Grimes (Chandler Riggs) back in the mix, but there is not much story left to tell involving Rick, Daryl, Michonne (Danai Gurira), Carol Peletier (Melissa McBride), Maggie Rhee (Lauren Cohan), and Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan).

A prequel series could introduce new characters, new stories, and new context for what happened. We could see all the steps that led to the Wildfire virus sweeping the planet. That sounds a lot more interesting to me than just continuing the story in the post-apocalyptic world and the rebuilding of society.

Will it happen? Well, that requires a sizable investment from AMC. Are they willing to make it all happen without the guarantee of success? That remains to be seen.

Regardless of prequel, sequel, or reboot, The Walking Dead is not coming to an end anytime soon. That much is for sure. Scott M. Gimple, the CCO of The Walking Dead, has made that very clear in numerous interviews over the years. Still, big decisions need to be made about The Walking Dead's future in the very near future if this franchise is going to be a relevant pop culture mainstay.

We'll share more news about The Walking Dead as we find out! The next thing we'll probably hear is whether or not Dead City is returning for season 4.

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