Summary
- The Walking Dead season 12 may struggle to match the production values of its successful spinoffs.
- The visually stunning spinoffs set a high bar that season 12 may not be able to reach.
- Season 12 could maintain quality by reducing its episode count, despite challenges posed by the spinoffs.
Speculation around The Walking Dead season 12 has been floating around ever since the main show concluded, but it would face an impossible problem after the last three spinoffs. The Walking Dead season 11's finale ended the main series and set up a new era of the franchise as the story has continued through spinoff shows. While season 11's ending resolved the main storylines, it didn't finish everyone's journey, leading to the creation of Dead City, Daryl Dixon, and The Ones Who Live. This allowed the most popular characters to continue their stories while allowing Walking Dead veterans to return.
The Walking Dead season 12 has not been confirmed.
The reception to these new shows has been overwhelmingly positive, with the franchise producing some of its best content in years. Having regulars like Lauren Cohan, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, and Norman Reedus all reprise their roles has been great for fans who aren't ready to see The Walking Dead end, while the return of Danai Gurira and Andrew Lincoln has brought back plenty of nostalgia. With the franchise gaining strong momentum, it seems likely that The Walking Dead is building towards a crossover event, but the spinoffs do present one major challenge for a potential twelfth season.
The Walking Dead's Last 3 Spinoffs All Had Better Production Values Than The Main Show
The Latest Walking Dead Spinoff Utlilized Their Budgets Incredibly Well
While fans may be desperate to see The Walking Dead's main characters reunite, season 12 would have a hard time overcoming the spinoffs' amazing production value. Given the spinoffs have smaller casts and fewer episodes, they have each been able to focus more on the overall production. This has allowed the franchise to branch out and shoot in new locations while creating interesting outfits, weapons, and zombie variants. The Ones Who Live's budget was the most expensive yet in The Walking Dead universe, showing how much money and effort was put into making these spinoffs stand out.
It is clear the franchise does have great ideas and the larger budgets have allowed the spinoffs to be more creative, but this only makes it harder for season 12 to thrive in comparison.
In contrast, the main show likely spent a lot more money on maintaining its huge cast, meaning the overall production was inferior to the newer projects. Rick Grimes' spinoff alone creates problems for a Walking Dead crossover, but with Daryl Dixon and Dead City also having better production value than the main show, it will be hard for the proposed season 12 to improve on this. It is clear the franchise does have great ideas and the larger budgets have allowed the spinoffs to be more creative, but this only makes it harder for season 12 to thrive in comparison.
The Walking Dead Season 12 May Not Be Able To Replicate Its Spinoffs' Awesome Visuals
The Spinoff Shows All Featured Stunning Visuals That Bettered The Main Show
Although the spinoffs have improved in a variety of ways, the visuals are one of the biggest upgrades from the main show which season 12 may not be able to overcome. The latest shows have managed to get creative, introducing a variety of new variants, a homemade missile launcher, and even a zombie orchestra, but none of this compares to how visually stunning the spinoffs are. Dead City's New York landscape, Daryl Dixon's French backdrops, and The Ones Who Live's CRM-orientated locations have made each show feel unique while offering more interesting and breathtaking scenery than the main show.
The Walking Dead did offer its own iconic shots throughout its 11 seasons such as Rick riding a horse through Atlanta, but Michonne had her own version of this in her spinoff that matched its quality. Daryl Dixon also used some filming tricks to get the most out of their time filming in France, making the show feel completely different visually from anything the franchise has done before. With the production value contributing to the spinoffs producing some of the franchise's most beautiful shots, it will be near impossible for The Waking Dead season 12 to replicate these impressive visuals.
How The Walking Dead Season 12 Could Happen Without Lowering The Quality
The Walking Dead Season 12 May Have To Be Shorter Than Previous Seasons
Despite the challenges facing The Walking Dead season 12, it could still happen without lowering its quality. While it may not be given the official season 12 title, the franchise's main characters could come together once again to face a new enemy, but the project would have to make some big changes from the original show. The Walking Dead averaged around 16 episodes per season with the final installment containing 24, but season 12 would have to significantly reduce this, as the spinoffs being just six episodes were a huge benefit to their overall quality.
Season 12 could get away with being slightly longer, but reducing the number of episodes would help improve the quality of the crossover. If season 12 is around six to eight episodes, it could still have a similar budget to season 11, but the quality would be much better since more money would be spent on each episode. Unfortunately, The Walking Dead won't be able to avoid the cost of a large cast since the ensemble is one of the franchise's big appeals, but going for fewer episodes would allow season 12 to maintain the quality of the spinoffs.
