AMC's legendary Walking Dead franchise is heading into its sixteenth year on our screens now. That's particularly impressive when you factor in how the original series ended almost four years ago but it's just more evidence that The Walking Dead doesn't have any plans on suffering the same fate as so many characters within the franchise have. No, the TWD Universe lives.
It was unclear earlier this year just how many installments from that shared universe would feature in 2026. While Daryl Dixon was always expected to return for its fourth and final season this year, AMC had been relatively quiet on when Dead City season 3 would air. Thankfully, it has since been confirmed that both spinoffs will be a part of our lives this year. And that means that we can expect to see TWD stalwarts Daryl Dixon, Carol Peletier, Maggie Rhee, and Negan all on our screens this year.
Unfortunately, as we've come to expect with the character-focused spinoffs, there are more TWD veterans we shouldn't plan to see this year, too.
Morgan Jones
Last TWD appearance: Fear The Walking Dead season 8 episode 6 "All I See Is Red"
Morgan Jones has been a fixture of The Walking Dead - both the series and the franchise - since the very beginning, appearing right back in the very first episode when he proved himself to be a true ally to Rick Grimes. He would then resurface in the third and fifth seasons before becoming a full-time part of the show from seasons 6 - 8. After that, he became the new lead of Fear The Walking Dead for most of the back half of its run.
Lennie James' beloved TWD veteran departed Fear halfway through the final season, bowing out to give original lead Madison Clark (Kim Dickens) the spotlight she deserved throughout the series. Although he left with a promise to return to Alexandria so that he could reunite with Rick and all of his friends, the franchise has yet to confirm whether he actually pulled it off or not.
Unless Morgan were to suddenly find his way to New York City - or Europe! - we highly doubt that we will see him appear in the new seasons of Dead City or Daryl Dixon. There's a small chance he might surface in the series finale of the latter when Daryl and Carol return home but, if there is an important reunion there, it would likely be Daryl, Carol, and Rick.
As it stands, Lennie James has been adamant that the character's exit in Fear is "it" for him and that he hasn't heard anything about a potential return for Morgan just yet. While there sure are possibilities (especially if that future crossover reunion season were to happen), we can probably add 2026 to the list of years that Morgan has not appeared in the TWD Universe.
Michonne
Last TWD appearance: The Ones Who Live episode 6 "The Last Time"
Michonne is another character who was a major fixture of The Walking Dead in its early days, and she also went on to become one of the show's most enduring characters too. Portrayed by Danai Gurira, she made her presence felt with her official debut in season 3 and stuck around until her departure in season 10. She then headlined her own spinoff series The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live alongside Andrew Lincoln's Rick Grimes.
The Ones Who Live was one of the three new TWD Universe spinoffs announced to take place after the conclusion of the original series and it was arguably the most exciting of them all as it would actually wrap up a major story that the show didn't get to. And it did just that in six compelling episodes, bringing Rick and Michonne's love story to a fulfilling, happy ending.
With that in mind, it's unclear when - or if - we will see Michonne on our screens again in the near-future. There are hopes that the aforementioned crossover reunion series might happen at some point down the line, uniting the casts of the three spinoffs with more classic TWD cast members, but as that won't be happening in 2026, we can likely rule out a return from Michonne this year.
Madison Clark
Last TWD appearance: Fear The Walking Dead season 8 episode 12 "The Road Ahead"
The woman who built Fear The Walking Dead, Madison Clark was the original lead of the TWD Universe's first spinoff back when it was serving as a prequel series. Kim Dickens' layered performance as the character led the series well for three glorious seasons until the questionable creative reboot in season 4 wrote the character off in an apparent death scene. Thankfully, the creative team made up for the poor decision in the seventh season when she returned to lead the show to a more stable conclusion - even if it would never be the titan that it once was.
Madison has never appeared outside of Fear and, with that show having ended nearly three years ago, there is no reason to believe that she will make her presence felt on the franchise this year. Her little corner of the TWD Universe isn't particularly close to Maggie and Negan's escapades in New York City, and they certainly aren't anywhere near Daryl and Carol's adventures in Spain, so it's safe to say that we won't be catching up with her on Dead City or Daryl Dixon's upcoming seasons. That doesn't completely rule her out from a future return, however.
Remember that long-rumored, long-awaited TWD reunion crossover we keep talking about? Well, if it does happen, rumor has it that it wouldn't just reunite the cast of The Walking Dead but that it might bring in other characters, elements, and settings from the wider franchise, with Madison and daughter Alicia Clark (Alycia Debnam-Carey) potentially among the characters that could be involved in it. And considering that Fear was the very first TWD spinoff, that would be incredibly fitting.
Just don't expect them back on our screens this year.
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