Ever since The Walking Dead wrapped its 11-season run at AMC, the franchise has expanded far and wide beyond the settlements seen on that show. Three new spinoffs took the TWD Universe to France, Spain, London, New York City, and even the mystery headquarters of the Civic Republic Military. It also allowed us to catch up with franchise mainstays like Daryl Dixon, Carol Peletier, Maggie Rhee, Negan and, of course, Michonne and Rick Grimes.
However, as great as they have been - and some of them have been great - fans have been calling for one thing: A reunion. The truth is that the series finale of the original series struggled to conclude the story on a 100% satisfying note for two reason: It was too focused on setting up the spinoffs, and it didn't deal with Rick and Michonne's story (although both did appear in it). And as a result, fans have been asking for one last spinoff - a reunion / crossover designed to bring all of the characters of the spinoffs together.
Veteran Walking Dead creatives Scott M. Gimple and Greg Nicotero have addressed the rumors, with the latter even revealing that they have talked about doing it over the years. But, honestly, there is one major flaw in the requests for this reunion series - and it all has to do with one of the spinoffs: Dead City.
Dead City's place in the TWD timeline makes a reunion impossible
The hope among fans is that one day we can see the casts of the three recent TWD spinoffs - Dead City, Daryl Dixon, and The Ones Who Live - reunite for one last hurrah. That would theoretically bring Lauren Cohan's Maggie and Jeffrey Dean Morgan's Negan back from New York City, and Norman Reedus' Daryl and Melissa McBride's Carol back from Europe, for all four of them to discover that Andrew Lincoln's Rick Grimes and Danai Gurira's Michonne had made it back home to Alexandria. There is just one problem with that theory: Dead City's place in the Walking Dead timeline makes that impossible.
See, what a lot of people don't know is that Dead City is actually set in 2029. That places it directly in the TWD Universe's future and makes it the currently "last" project in the timeline. It doesn't take place alongside the events of Daryl Dixon nor did it run alongside the single season of The Ones Who Live. So, to Maggie and Negan, Rick and Michonne's returns to Alexandria took place six years ago. Therefore, Dead City simply couldn't be involved in any immediate reunion crossover - because it hasn't happened yet.
What makes matters so much worse is that neither Maggie nor Negan have ever addressed Rick's return on the show. This was obviously an attempt to prevent spoiling the events of The Ones Who Live before it aired (Dead City's first season aired first) but it's also pretty hard to believe that the subject of the man who saved so many settlements - and Negan's former archenemy - never came up when the two old foes were talking. After all, Rick ended up preventing Maggie from getting her revenge on Negan when he spared the villain's life, never giving up on the possibility that he could redeem himself. Ironically, the former big bad has spent the rest of his time in the TWD Universe attempting to do that.
Due to Rick's rich history with both of these characters, audiences really should see his reunion with both of them take place on-screen. But it seems as if neither one of them ever knew he returned. You could explain away Maggie not mentioning it, but it's hard to believe that Negan wouldn't have had some kind of reaction to it. And since Dead City implies he hasn't been back near his former enemies-turned-allies in those six years, it's possible that he didn't hear. So why didn't Maggie tell him?
Setting a reunion six years later wouldn't have the same effect
The TWD Universe franchise has unfortunately written itself into a corner here. A spinoff / reunion / crossover series could technically be set after the events of Dead City to allow both Maggie and Negan to be involved, but that would take out the emotional heart of all of the reunions. You have to think that the pair know Rick returned, but even if they didn't, Daryl and Carol's reunion with him and Michonne would have taken place six years earlier. So, again, the timelines wouldn't add up. And because of this, there is no perfect solution: One group of characters either misses out on the emotional, immediate reunion with Rick and Michonne or misses out on the rumored spinoff altogether.
Many fans were surprised that The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live saw the prompt defeat of the Civic Republic Military, who many considered to be the Thanos of the TWD Universe; as in the big bad who brought the events of the franchise together. But Rick and Michonne defeated them in just six episodes, making the post-TWD era immediately feel a little directionless.
That said, even without a main threat to pull the three new spinoffs together, there is still the element of Rick and Michonne's return. It's the one loose end that The Walking Dead itself never got to wrap up, so it would make sense for a reunion spinoff - a "season 12", if you will - was built around the gang reuniting with Rick and Michonne for one final battle against a new evil.
But the only way to make that happen would be either cut the two main characters of Dead City out of it or essentially retcon the events of the show, implying that Maggie and Negan got the chance to reunite with Rick and Michonne too. The only alternative would be to set it after Dead City. While that would work as a series finale to the TWD Universe - acting as the final chapter in its story - it would also lack the emotional depth that it would if Rick and Michonne's comeback was at the heart of it. If they've just been there all along for six years, fans will likely be robbed of all the emotional, depth-filled reunions they've been hoping for. And, quite frankly, they would deserve better than that.