Summary
- Daryl Dixon's journey to France may uncover the origins of the zombie virus and potential cure, breathing new life into the stale zombie franchise.
- Comparisons between Daryl's storyline and HBO's The Last of Us are expected, according to Greg Nicotero.
- Despite dwindling viewership, The Walking Dead franchise finds new momentum with spin-offs like Dead City and the highly anticipated return of Rick Grimes in The Ones Who Live.
The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon seems to be following in the footsteps of Dead City in breathing new life into the stale lungs of the zombie franchise. Norman Reedus’ crossbow-wielding fan-favorite character will be seen heading off to France, where he could potentially discover more about the origins of the zombie virus and the cure that has been hinted at in the past.
Even before its premiere on AMC and AMC+, Daryl Dixon has been drawing comparisons to another recent zombie apocalypse-set series; HBO’s The Last of Us. With Daryl seemingly ending up on a quest through an unfriendly terrain, accompanying a young woman in the process, it is not hard to see why people would instantly see similarities between the two shows. However, for long-term Walking Dead executive producer Greg Nicotero, the comparisons between the shows are not only expected, but actually should be looked at from an alternative view point. Speaking to SFX Magazine, Nicotero said:
“The Last of Us is basically a ‘Greatest Hits’ of the first three or four seasons of The Walking Dead. The creators of the game even said that they took a lot of inspiration from The Walking Dead. So the fact that people responded so positively to The Last of Us sort of proves my point. If you have great characters and a great story that people can respond to, the genre has a lot more life in it than what everybody wants to believe.”
The Walking Dead Spin-Offs Are What The Franchise Needed.
The Walking Dead premiered back in 2010 as one of the most highly anticipated shows of the year. Under the direction of filmmaker Frank Darabont, the show was an instant hit and perfectly brought the graphic novels of Robert Kirkman, Tony Moore, and Charlie Adlard to life on screen. Over the subsequent decade, the world of The Walking Dead saw some huge highs and then equally spectacular lows. By the end of the 11th season, the show had seen viewership drop to just over 2 million from a high of 17 million following the arrival of Negan in season six/season seven.
It is therefore no surprise that Negan has already appeared in the first of three new spin-off series, Dead City, which received generally positive reviews for changing up the narrative, with a switch in location to a zombie-infested New York, and following a new storyline centering on Negan and Maggie. That series is now returning for a second season sometime in the future, and according to star Lauren Cohen could easily run for several more seasons after that.
For Daryl Dixon, the future is already looking bright whatever the show brings, as the series has also been renewed for a second season before an episode has even debuted. Additionally, fans will finally get to see the return of Andrew Lincoln’s Rick Grimes after six years in The Ones Who Live, in which he will be reunited with Danai Gurira’s Michonne. That series will air sometime in 2024, and is currently expected to be a limited series, but as we know, that can always change.
