AMC's The Walking Dead show had an impressive run that started all the way back in 2010, stood the test of time, and eventually came to an end over a decade later in 2022.
Fortunately, the undead's reign didn't end there, as the story branched into multiple spin-offs starring different characters. Some of these projects are still ongoing to this day, like The Walking Dead: Dead City and The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon (although the latter is coming to an end next year).
But even when spin-offs proved to be the perfect way to keep the franchise's legacy alive, it didn't mean every idea for a new The Walking Dead show materialized. Case in point: Chandler Riggs pitched a spin-off centered around Carl Grimes, but it never saw the light of day. On the bright side, we finally know more about what this scrapped project would've been about.
Chandler Riggs comments on the scrapped Carl Grimes spinoff
Carl's arc proved to be very controversial during the character's final days. The iconic survivor initially believed that killing was necessary to survive in the ruthless post-apocalyptic world. He even went on a solo mission to try to kill Negan himself. However, this mindset was radically changed between seasons 7 and 8. Suddenly, Carl turned into a pacifist, and fans never quite understood the reasoning behind such a sudden transformation. And while the mystery still goes on to this day, we were close to finding an answer.
Speaking with Screen Rant, Riggs revealed that he pitched a Carl Grimes spin-off to AMC's Chief Content Officer of The Walking Dead Universe, Scott M. Gimple. The project would've focused on the events that transpired during the month between seasons 7 and 8 and explained why Carl had a sudden change of heart:
"Oh man, there was a point in time where we had talked about a potential for Carl coming back, and not in a hallucination or flashback, but a story for him. I actually had written out this thing and sent it to Scott [Gimple] of there's a gap between season 7 and 8, where he's, not bloodthirsty, but ready to kill, ready to do what it takes to take out [others]. He doesn't want to kill people, but like he'll do what it takes. And then to go from that to pure pacifist, to like, 'No, we're not killing any more people.' I think there's an opportunity there for us to explore what he experienced during that month of time to send him down this path."
Moreover, Riggs revealed that he wanted to showcase what Carl lived through for him to come to the conclusion that peace was the only way forward.
"I think if we were to tell any other story for Carl, specifically, and he's not coming back to preach some sort of message into another character or something, that's what I would want it to be. What did he see? What did he witness or experience to send him down this path of, 'Okay, no, we're gonna figure out a way for all of us to live together. We're not just gonna kill all of them.'"
Ultimately, Carl met an untimely end in The Walking Dead, despite the fact that he survived in the source material. Carl's death was what ultimately pushed Rick to try to find a peaceful resolution to his war against Negan and even spare the man who once killed Glenn. However, the execution of this idea never quite stuck the landing, especially given that we never learned why Carl was so keen on finding peace to begin with. And if we couldn't understand his change of heart, it makes Rick's change of heart all the more shallow, as well.
Unfortunately, it's unlikely we'll ever know what Carl experienced between seasons 7 and 8 of The Walking Dead, but it's nice to know Riggs wanted to solve this mystery once and for all.
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