The Walking Dead is one of the great TV franchises. It's hard to believe that it has just turned 15 years old, but what's even more impressive than that is the fact that the stories of the TWD Universe are continuing to be told. It's true; although the original series wrapped its run back in 2022, the franchise lives on via six-eight episode spinoffs designed to focus on some of its longest-standing characters.
Spinoffs aren't anything new to the TWD Universe, as Fear The Walking Dead, World Beyond, and Tales of the Walking Dead all aired during the mothership show's run. The newer wave of offshoots have a more cinematic quality about them, telling stories after the finale of the original series and using some of its best characters to do that.
Daryl Dixon takes the titular lone wolf and his best friend Carol Peletier to France for a new adventure, while Dead City revisits one of the most infamous TWD rivalries in Maggie and Negan, who venture into New York City in search of the former's son. And miniseries The Ones Who Live wrapped up Rick Grimes and Michonne's story, reuniting the two lovers and bringing them home to their family in Alexandria. And yet, there is one spinoff fans have been longing for.
It's time to reunite Rick and Michonne with their friends for one last TWD spinoff
For years, Walking Dead fans have wanted to see one thing: Rick Grimes return home to Alexandria to reunite with his loved ones. They got that in the series finale of The Ones Who Live, but it was in a somewhat unexpected fashion. See, Rick returned with Michonne, but the pair were just met by their daughter Judith and son RJ. There was no Daryl, no Carol, no Maggie. And that's because they've been busy.
Norman Reedus and Melissa McBride are currently leading Daryl Dixon, which has seen their characters make their way from France to Spain in the hopes of returning home to the US. So, as far as we know, they aren't aware that Rick has returned home. Meanwhile, it's unclear where Maggie and Negan are at this particular point in the timeline as Dead City is set years in the future, so it's not taking place right now. As a result, Maggie may also be unaware of Rick's return and Negan is off doing his own thing too, away from the survivors he once called both his enemies and his friends.
With Daryl Dixon confirmed to be ending with its fourth and final season, fans are worried that we might be about to see the last of Daryl and Carol. But AMC's Chief Content Officer of The Walking Dead Universe, Scott Gimple, has implied that there will be other stories to tell with these characters - as have McBride and Reedus - so it's entirely possible that we will see them again. And it's thoroughly important that it's soon as fans have been asking and asking for one more spinoff.
What's that, then? Oh, you know, only The Walking Dead season 12! Well, sort of. The truth is that audiences have been craving one more miniseries focused on the main characters of all the new spinoffs, meaning that we could see Rick, Michonne, Daryl, Carol, Maggie, and Negan all in the same place at the same time one more time. Obviously, Dead City's placement in the timeline would likely mean that it would be a prequel to that instead of a sequel series, but you know that fans would be up for it anyway.
We miss seeing Andrew Lincoln's Rick as part of this franchise, and we really miss seeing him interact with his friends on-screen. We know that the Walking Dead legend recently confirmed that he was in talks to return to the role of Rick, and fans are speculating that he might be involved in the series finale of Daryl Dixon, as Rick could be there to greet Daryl and Carol when they return home. It's not yet clear if that's going to happen, but considering a large part of Daryl's journey involves his desire to find Rick, it would be a fitting finale to that series.
However, it also presents AMC with the opportunity to make that spinoff that fans have wanted to see. Although Gimple and his fellow AMC creatives have implied that The Walking Dead as a franchise could continue on for another 15 years, its glory days are undoubtedly behind it. So it's best to put a finale to the whole franchise together in the not-too-distant future to ensure that it gets to go out on a high.
The original Walking Dead series couldn't provide closure to these characters' arcs as it had to launch the spinoffs off the back of their unresolved storylines, but now that the spinoffs either have or are winding down, it's time to give the fans that closure to the storylines that they have been craving. Bring Rick home to his friends and have them unite for one final six-episode adventure to send the TWD Universe off into the sunset once and for all.
Call it The Walking Dead, call it The Finale, call it whatever you like. We'll just call it the ending that The Walking Dead Universe deserves! Make it happen, AMC!