Everything We Know About The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon Season 3

   

The Walking Dead universe continues to expand thanks to two of its spin-offs, Daryl Dixon and Dead City, returning for additional seasons. Luckily, the fans won't have to wait too long, as Daryl Dixon Season 3 is currently on track to premiere later in the year. When audiences had last caught up with Daryl, he suffered some tragic losses of newer allies but gained some hope for the future with his emotional reunion with Carol. Not much is currently known about what sort of adventures lie ahead for the duo in the upcoming season. Based on the information that is available to go by, however, there are already plenty of reasons for the fans to be excited about.

Everything We Know About The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon Season 3

Just by looking at the brief teaser trailer that has already been released, it's clear that Season 3 is going to be taking the show in even more unexpected directions. With a whole new primary location and a whole new cast of supporting characters, it seems that the series is essentially hitting the reset button, bringing a whole new flavor to a show that has already reinvented The Walking Dead franchise in some of the most satisfyingly surprising ways.

The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon Will Have a Change of Scenery in Season 3

The Season's New Location May Also Hold Another Connection to the Original Series

Daryl ride up with a face covered in The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon Season 3.

In the previous seasons, Daryl had ended up far and away from the Commonwealth in America, finding himself washing ashore in Paris, France, after being taken by the Pouvoir. This new setting allowed the fans to catch a glimpse at just how the rest of the world had been dealing with the zombie apocalypse, showing how the city of lights had fallen into darkness and despair. The end of Season 3 had Daryl, Carol, and their newfound confidante, Stéphane Codron, looking to make their way to the rumored safety of England; however, given the news that has been put out about one of Season 3's major filming locations, it's clear that their journey is going to be taking them in a much different direction from what they had originally planned. The new season will continue The Walking Dead universe's world tour, with the story having switched its primary location over to Spain. In an interview with Collider, showrunner David Zabel offered a hint at what the show's new setting will have to offer.

Eventually, it's in Spain, but there is an interesting stop in between France and Spain that's pretty cool and exciting...Then, in Spain, we have a different vibe from France, which is really cool. We get into a little bit of a Western vibe, a little bit of a spaghetti Western vibe, and the colors are different. It’s sandy, it's dusty, and it’s windy, and we're in this town that's very complicated.

If the teaser trailer for the new season is anything to go by, the fans can look forward to more cultural explorations of how the apocalypse has affected the other side of the world, but it's also possible that the location could mean big things for the story. While he never made an appearance in the original series, fans of the comics might remember that Rick Grimes happened to have a brother, Jeffrey, who had been living in Barcelona (his place of birth) during the breakout of the apocalypse. With the show now taking place in Spain, it might just be possible that Jeffrey might be making his debut appearance in The Walking Dead TV universe. Even though he dies from a Walker bite before he can reunite with his brother in America, the TV adaptation has already strayed far from being completely faithful to the source material, and a meeting between him and Daryl (who had wound up in France due to his search for Rick) could lead to incredibly interesting discussions.

 

A New Cast of Characters Will Be Joining Daryl and Carol

A New Location Means a Whole New Supporting Cast of Allies and Enemies

Stephen Merchant plays a new character in The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon Season 3.
Image via AMC.

New Cast Members For Daryl Dixon Season 3

Member Status

Stephen Merchant

Unknown

Eduardo Noriega

Main

Óscar Jaenada

Main

Alexandra Masangkay

Main

Candela Saitta

Recurring

Hugo Arbues

Recurring


Ditching the location of Paris also means that several key cast members from the previous two seasons won't be returning; this includes Clémence Poésy as Isabelle (who died after being stabbed by Losang, making flashbacks and visions her only possible future appearances), along with Romain Levi as Cordon (whose whereabouts are unknown after the psychedelic effects he experienced from the bat guano in the escape tunnels). For Season 3, however, fans can look forward to getting to know a whole new set of characters played by some new actors they already may (or will eventually) recognize. Among those joining the roster of the main cast include Spanish actors Eduardo Noriega, Óscar Jaenada, and Alexandra Masangkay, while Candela Saitta and Hugo Arbues will be playing a set of recurring characters. British comedian, Stephen Merchant, best known for his collaborations with Ricky Gervais as well as playing Caliban in the X-Men film franchise's Logan has also been confirmed to be making an appearance.

With all the secrecy surrounding Season 3, there is currently very little to almost no available information about whom these characters are and how they'll be tied to Daryl and Carol's journey. From the brief shot of Stephen Merchant's character, he appears to be a fellow survivor who will be assisting the duo when they arrive in London. Although he expressed his excitement over his casting to his followers on Instagram, the fans shouldn't expect to hear anything further from him until the premiere, as he's been sworn to secrecy.

As a fan of ‘The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon’, I was excited when they asked me to join the WD universe for season 3. But don’t ask me for spoilers - my lips are sealed.

 

Some of Season 2's Cliffhangers Will More Than Likely Not Receive Any Immediate Answers

Fans Shouldn't Expect To See Laurent or Ash in Season 3

Laurent holds a guitar in a scene from The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon.
Image via AMC.

At the end of Season 2, Laurent is shown to have escaped with Ash in his plane after two full seasons of evading capture by the Pouvoir and the L'Union factions. Both he and Ash seem to now be on their way to America, and the fans can only hope that there will be an eventual reunion between them, Daryl, and Carol. However, they shouldn't hold their breath for it to be happening anytime in the upcoming season. With Laurent now out of harm's way, the pursuing factions have presumably fallen apart from their losses of leadership, meaning that there's no need for the show to have them further involved with the show going forward. This also means that, unless Ash's plane just so happens to land in Spain, the story, at least for now, won't be involving them either.

There has yet to be any official word on whether Romain Levi will be returning as Codron, which means that it might be a while before the audience finds out what happened to him after he ran away at the end of Season 2 (assuming the show ever intends to revisit the character at all).

 

Season 3 Will Have the Same Number of Episodes as the Previous 2

A Shorter Run of Episodes Has Helped the Show's Pacing, But It's Also For Budgetary Reasons

Daryl and Carol sit together in the teaser for The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon Season 3.
Image via AMC.

While there are certainly some benefits to be had from having more than one Walking Dead spin-off going on at the same time, one of the downsides (or upsides, depending on how it's looked at) has been the shortened number of episodes per season. From what has already been announced so far, Season 3 will almost definitely only contain 6 episodes, bringing the series' total to 18. Contrary to popular belief, the reason behind this wasn't due to the 2023 writer's strike. Many fans might be disappointed by the shorter run of episodes not giving them more time to spend with the characters they've gotten to know so well over the years, but it has certainly helped the show in the long run. This new quality-over-quantity approach to a shorter and more contained narrative with the spin-offs has resulted in better pacing and character development.

With their more limited ensembles, the spin-offs don't have as many subplots to follow and therefore don't necessarily need as many episodes as the previous series did. The shortened number of episodes also means that it'll be much easier for the fans who have fallen behind to catch up more quickly than ever before.

 

When Will The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon Season 3 Premiere?

The Season Is Set For a 2025 Premiere, But No Concrete Date Has Been Set

Despite the release of a teaser trailer, Season 3 of The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon currently has no set date for its premiere. Luckily, unlike the Negan and Maggie spin-off, Dead City, fans won't have to wait nearly as long, as the promise of a 2025 release still looks to be in good standing. If the consistency of the release of the first two seasons is any indication, however, the wait may be shorter than some are expecting. Considering that Seasons 1 and 2 have had September releases, it only makes sense that Season 3 would be on track to premiere roughly around the same time.

In the meantime, the fans will just have to remain patient, but there seems to be no doubt among them that their patience will certainly pay off in big and surprising ways.