Norman Reedus might not be leaving The Walking Dead universe after all.
According to a The Ankler interview with AMC Chief Content Officer Dan McDermott, there are plans in the works for Norman Reedus to return to The Walking Dead in some capacity after The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon comes to an end later this year on AMC.
Here's what McDermott told The Ankler about Reedus' future:
"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."
I don't know about you, but it sure doesn't sound like Daryl Dixon season 4 will be the last time we see Reedus as Daryl Dixon. Unfortunately, it's not so simple.
Norman Reedus already said goodbye to Daryl Dixon
The weird thing about this entire story is that Reedus already seemingly bid farewell to the character he's been playing for 16 years on Instagram last month.
In an Instagram post that also featured behind-the-scenes photos from the final days on set of Daryl Dixon season 4, Reedus wrote: "Finally going through these photos to check off from the last episode now that I’m back from Mongolia it was really hard to kill any of them. I didn’t post any of those here, but I can’t wait for people to see this show the crew best I’ve ever worked with the feeling of accomplishment when it was over was just amazing. Such hard work and I so much hart put into this I think you’re gonna feel it. It was a special season. I can’t wait for you to see it. It hits just way different this time."
That sure seems like a goodbye to me. It's possible that the deal is not done, so for now, this is basically goodbye for Reedus. Even if he returns in some other projects in the future, it might be in a much more limited role than we've seen him in The Walking Dead and Daryl Dixon.
I might be reading too much into the "discussions" part of the quote, but I'm pretty sure that means that Daryl's not going to die in the final season of the spinoff.
There are no Walking Dead projects on the books after Daryl Dixon season 4
As it stands, The Walking Dead's future is rather uncertain at the moment. The Walking Dead: Dead City season 3 premieres on Sunday, July 26. Daryl Dixon season 4 is expected to premiere sometime after Dead City season 3 comes to an end. After that, AMC has no projects renewed or greenlit.
Dead City is probably going to be renewed for a fourth season, but so far, AMC has not revealed plans for that season. Daryl Dixon has been the more successful of the spinoffs. We could see another story teased or introduced in the final season.
Still, it's interesting that AMC is talking so openly about continuing these stories when nothing has publicly been announced. We know there are going to be some projects in development, but at this point, it's not clear what that plan actually is.
McDermott addressed The Walking Dead's future in the interview, too: "We will always have Walking Dead shows on our platforms."
What those shows will be remains to be seen, but there's a good chance that we will learn more soon.
AMC and The Walking Dead are expected to have a presence at San Diego Comic-Con 2026, which begins on July 23. Nothing has been confirmed so far, but with Dead City season 3's premiere and Daryl Dixon season 4, fans are expecting AMC to reveal something about the future of the franchise, in addition to the season 4 release date.
We'll share more updates on the future of The Walking Dead as we find out! Stay tuned!
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