The Walking Dead has been around for years. We're approaching a time when we can say that it has been around for decades as the 20th anniversary of the original show's launch isn't too far off. Yep, it's a sign of how enduring this legendary franchise still remains all these years later. And even though it seemed as if the TWD Universe might break one of its biggest streaks next year if it had no new content to air, we now know that there will be at least one Walking Dead series on our screens in 2027.
The question is: What comes next? There are indeed hopes that Dead City will land that long-awaited season 4 renewal and we now know that Daryl Dixon season 4 is coming out next year. The latter series will bow out with its fourth season, while the former would likely end with a fifth or a sixth. Beyond that, however, series / franchise mastermind Scott M. Gimple has ideas. But it might look very, very different from what we're used to as longtime TWD fans.
While the TWD Universe will return, the roll-out will be slower
We mentioned above that there were concerns that the Walking Dead franchise may have been forced to end its 17-year streak next year with no new TWD shows. Yes, once upon a time, Daryl Dixon season 4 was set to air this year so, with Dead City awaiting renewal, the franchise's future beyond this year was unclear. AMC got ahead of that problem by delaying Daryl Dixon's final season until 2027, ensuring that next year will have a new TWD season. The question is: Will the TWD Universe continue beyond that?
The good news is that the answer is yes, but it does come with a catch: That 17-year streak of uninterrupted Walking Dead content may have to come to an end to facilitate that at some point.
Speaking to The Direct, AMC's Chief Content Officer of The Walking Dead Universe Scott M. Gimple confirmed that there will always be Walking Dead projects in development, echoing an earlier statement from AMC Studios President Dan McDermott. However, the rollout of that will likely involve longer gaps between seasons, projects, and more, as he revealed:
"There's definitely going to be more series, both shorter things and ongoing things. But it'll probably be a bit... the rollout will be slightly slower... But the urgency and the speed, like 'Get it out, get it out, get it out.' It's just a different time, but that time does allow us to get it right."
Needless to say, this is a pretty bittersweet message. While it's obviously great that there will be more Walking Dead projects coming our way in the future - regardless of whether that's shorter projects of the typical long-form TV shows - it does mean that at some point in time we may be looking at a year in which there is no new TWD show on our screens in the future.
Ever since The Walking Dead first premiered on AMC in 2010, there has been new episodes of the franchise to enjoy. Whether we're talking the first five years of just that series or the subsequent six in which there were episodes of spinoffs Fear The Walking Dead, World Beyond, and Tales of the Walking Dead to go along with it. Then, ever since that original series concluded in 2022, there have been new episodes of Fear as well as sequel shows Dead City, Daryl Dixon, and the Rick Grimes and Michonne-led The Ones Who Live.
Interestingly, if there was only one Walking Dead spinoff on the air right now, there would have been multiple opportunities where that streak might have been broken already. Dead City took two years to deliver its second season, meaning that 2024 would have been an empty year had The Ones Who Live and Daryl Dixon season 2 hadn't aired. Similarly, this year could have ended up like that Dead City season 3 hadn't been around to bridge the two-year gap between Daryl Dixon seasons 3 and 4. But that's the beauty of there being multiple shows on the air at once; it makes up for any potential gaps in production and release schedules.
After Daryl Dixon's conclusion, there will be just Dead City (if it is indeed renewed) and that Maggie and Negan-led spinoff likely only has about two more seasons left in it at the most. Should there be a two-year gap between any of its seasons, then the TWD Family fandom may have to experience the first year without TWD content since 2009.
The good news is that it won't seemingly just rest on Dead City's shoulders. As revealed by Gimple multiple times at this point, there are other projects in the works - one of which fans are hoping is the long-awaited reunion / crossover featuring Andrew Lincoln's Rick Grimes and Norman Reedus' Daryl Dixon. And Gimple hopes that it's still on the cards, too:
"I still dream of it, and I will say we have all sorts of plans in play. It's just... It's a different time."
Gimple has been upfront about his hopes to make this project before. In fact, the creatives behind the franchise have been acknowledging it more and more in recent months (which marks a huge first), with legendary TWD director and executive producer Greg Nicotero also confirming that the idea is talked about all the time. Logisitcally, it would be difficult to make happen, as it would mean that the stars of current spinoffs - Norman Reedus' Daryl Dixon, Melissa McBride's Carol Peletier, Lauren Cohan's Maggie Rhee, and Jeffrey Dean Morgan's Negan - would all have to cross over with Andrew Lincoln's Rick and Danai Gurira's Michonne to make it work. Doable? Theoretically. But that might explain why Gimple is placing such an emphasis on the slower rollouts going forward.
Lincoln himself has confirmed talks of a potential Rick Grimes return in the near-future so, provided it doesn't happen in the season 4 finale of Daryl Dixon (which is honestly a very real possibility at this point), there is a good chance that the talks of that reunion crossover could have already started talking place. And if that were to happen in the not-too-distant future, it may well mark the beginning of the end for the original era of the TWD Universe.
As for how long the franchise's overall run may last, however, Gimple believes that we're only in the middle of The Walking Dead's life - if not even earlier than that. So, yes, The Walking Dead will live for a long time to come, even if the era of quick, steady, annual consumption comes to an end.
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