the walking dead season 10

Interview: Ross Marquand on Working With Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Remembering Jesus, and Much More.

Julian Cannon Leave a Comment

The Walking Dead star Ross Marquand appears on the new episode “Ghosts” as Aaron and Negan are teaming up for the first time. The unlikely pairing on this episode turned out good for the better and it further explored Aaron’s ability to make sure that Negan does not slip up and to see if he can trust him. I got the chance to speak to Ross Marquand about the episode as we break it down in this exclusive interview!

This is the first time that you and Jeffery Dean Morgan had extended scenes on an episode with eachother. How did it feel for both of you to team up in this episode?

Ross: “I love it. I don’t want to speak for Jeffrey, but I thought it was fantastic because this is the first time as you said that these two characters get a chance to really go toe to toe since the lineup or when Glenn and Abraham were killed. I think a lot of our audience members are gonna be happy to see this because they were hoping for an interaction like this for all of the characters who were in the lineup. Everyone who witnessed this horrific death wish they could have a moment with Jeffrey where they could say ‘hey Negan, you’ve done something absolutely unforgivable and I was trying my damnedest to forgive you. But what what can you do to prove to me that you’re not the same person’. I don’t think that Aaron is convinced that he is the same or has changed rather. I think he is very much convinced that this is the same person that he saw in the clearing all those years ago and it’s a moment of extreme emotional purging where Aaron feels like ‘you have never really fully answered for what you’ve done and this is my opportunity to to relate to you and tell you how much what your actions meant to me and the rest of the group'”.

Do you have any funny stories working with Jeffrey Dean Morgan on this episode?

Jeffrey Dean Morgan as Negan, Ross Marquand as Aaron – The Walking Dead _ Season 10, Episode 3 – Photo Credit: Jackson Lee Davis/AMC

Ross: “I mean, it was pretty tense. He was he was such a great sport. I felt bad when I kept tripping him and knocking him down because you never want to hurt anybody. But there were a few takes where I really laid into him with a leg and I thought I’d actually hurt him reaally bad. But he would pop up and be like “Nah man, i’m fine! It’s all good. Don’t worry you use it use it”. So he was he was a of sport and we tried to keep it pretty simple and pretty quiet for that because it was such a tense scene that we didn’t want to mess with that but yeah, I really feel like he just brings such a incredible characterisation of Negan to the screen. I mean he is really good at blending that like kind of controlled, smarmy, charm with this absolutely lethal stare. And it’s uncomfortable to act with because he’s channeling this diabolical character so well and he does a phenomenal job with it and I love working with him”.

Who came up with the idea for Aaron to have a mace on his prosthetic arm and were any other weapon choices avaliable if the mace was not a choice?

Ross: “Well I don’t know for certain if it was my idea or the writers, but I was in several interviews last year with different outlets and they asked me the same question: “if you would have any different attachments for your arm what would it be?”. And I just joke and said “I got to be really cool to have like a mace on a chain like a cat of nine tails sort of thing”. And I was just joking I really didn’t think that was ever going to happen. And then this year when I had my meeting, I was informed that there was going to be a mace and I thought Oh awesome .That’s so unique and cool but that’s literally exactly what I was talking about last year. I didn’t know if word got out or it spread to the higher ranks, but I was so happy when I learned that because there is nothing more satisfying than taking off my hand and then putting on this beast of a unwieldy weapon. It’s it’s fairly heavy but it looks so cool. And I’m just so pleased with how the props department put that together”.

What is the most difficult skill you had to learn while you were one-handed?

Ross: “Scratching my back probably! (Laughs). I think it’s a trick. I mean I really had a hard time at first because all the things that you were used to doing with two hands, all of a sudden you’re having to learn with one and one of the most practical ones is just going around at lunchtime and if we have a quick turnaround it don’t always take off the arm. So just loading up all of my meal using my fake arm as a balance beam essentially from my trays and put food into my mouth. It’s a learning curve and I think it’s a wonderful challenge to have for the character and I think it’s a wonderful representation of all that he’s lost both physical and mental. Emotionally speaking from Eric, to Jesus, to Tara, every person that he’s lost is a truly felt by t this character I mean he really feels the weight of their loss. And I think losing the arm is a wonderful physical manifestation of that”. 

We see that Negan has watched over Aaron all night. Do you believe that Aaron is starting to trust Negan after everything that happened the previous night into the morning? 

Ross: “I think that they recognized that if Negan actually killed Aaron in that moment, Negan probably would have had to answer a lot of questions and that would’ve been a search party for Aaron and it probably would’ve ended really poorly for him. So I don’t know if it’s so much that Aaron trusts him anymore as these two men both know who they are. They’re not really convinced that the other one has much faith in the other, but they’ve got a nice understanding now and I think that’s where you can build forgiveness and that’s where you can build open communication after that. But at this point, I still don’t believe that Aaron trusts or forgives Negan one bit”.

You mentioned about losing some of the other characters such as Eric during All Out War, and Jesus at the graveyard in Season 9. Who do you think between those two affected Aaron the most?

Ross: “I think Eric. Eric was a long longstanding boyfriend and lover and they knew each other before the apocalypse even began. So they were arguably the longest running relationship the show has ever known. So it affected him greatly to lose Eric. I think the loss of Jesus was also affected. It’s affected them only because they formed such a camaraderie and they were they were they were such a tight unit. And then to lose him in such a horrific and surprising way, that affected them on a mental level so much more as opposed to Eric was more of an emotional level. Jesus was just such a huge shock to the system and it just came out of nowhere literally. And I think that that would be the distinction between the two”.

The sword that Aaron used on 10×01 while he was clearing the walkers, was it the same sword that Jesus used to own?

Ross: “It is and I think it’s sort of a ceremonial sword for him. Angela and I both discussed it and I said I don’t think that he would just retire that sword. I think he would use that sword especially in very very important battles not only as a way of honoring Jesus and everything that he taught Aaron, but also because it’s a way of connecting the past the future. I think he held a great deal of reverence and friendship for Jesus and that sword is a wonderful way of him continuing that tradition.

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The Walking Dead Season 10, Episode 2 “We Are The End Of The World” Recap

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Samantha Morton as Alpha – The Walking Dead _ Season 10, Episode 2 – Photo Credit: Jace Downs/AMC

The season 10 premiere opened with a bang and kept myself tuned in from start to finish. The second episode did exactly that again. On this episode, we see how Alpha and Beta meet and it is an adventure. Here is my review and recap of “We Are The End of the World”.

*This episode jumps back and forth between the past and the present.

The episode opens with a flashback from seven years ago with a woman getting out of a car after a car accident. Walkers are approaching her and even Alpha and a young Lydia is walking with the walkers and making their sounds as well. The woman gets devoured and it is gross and brutal to watch. Lydia screamed and that attracted the walkers towards the both of them and they both run away from the walkers. They run inside a building and shut the door. Alpha told Lydia that she almost got them killed. Alpha also sees Beta for the first time and he is under a mask and has different clothes on.

At the current time, we see The Whisperers’ camp and we also see Beta shaving Alpha’s head as they talked about how the communities will fear them. Gamma and her sister Frances are also seen. Back to the past, Beta told them both that they can stay and Alpha asks for water so that way, they can wash themselves. Back to the current time as The Whisperers are walking with a small herd. He told Gamma to be on alert and Frances makes a comment about the hot weather and the sun. Gamma told her to quiet down because she is a distraction and also told her that she should have left her behind. Back in the past, Alpha washes Lydia’s hair and then looks through the food cans. Beta even asked for her name, and she replied that she does not have one and that they are all monsters and that they are part of the dead. Beta then mentions about the sound of the walkers.

Back to the current time as Beta is attracting walkers in the locked parking lot. He opens the gate and they are doing this to combnine the herds. We also find out moments later that Frances is the mom of her baby that she left at Hiltop in season 9 and she is still not over the fact that she had to do it. Frances is still not focusing and Beta lets her know that she will pay for it. Back at the camp as Beta shoves her to the ground and she is crying. Another Whisperer is about to kill her, and then Alpha stops it as she arrives. Alpha and Beta then talk as Alpha lets him know that Lydia is dead to her and Beta is not convinced that Alpha has gotten over her. Alpha then went on and told him that he will never understand about losing a child.

Samantha Morton as Alpha, Havana Blum as Young Lydia – The Walking Dead _ Season 10, Episode 2 – Photo Credit: Jace Downs/AMC

Back to the past as Lydia asks Alpha about the pillows on the wallks. Alpha tried to give her a stuffed bunny, but Lydia does not want it and she does not want to be scared anymore. Alpha (who is very thrilled to hear that), hugs Lydia and told her that if she does not stick with it, that she will leave her behind. Lydia does not want that and Alpha told her to stop calling her “mom”. In the present, Frances and Alpha are alone and oh my god, Alpha’s stone cold stare gives me the chills to my spine especially after when Frances apologized, Alpha told her to remove her mask. Alpha then told her to kneel down and as she held Frances’ head, she is heard screaming and Gamma and Beta hears it. Alpha spares her from killing her as she understands what it is like to lose a child. When they both return to the camp, Beta asked Alpha why did she not kill her and Alpha told him to never question her again and said that she will skin her alive if she messes up again. In the flashback, Alpha kills a walker in the hallway and more were approaching her and Beta saved her by killing one wwalker with a knife, and two more by smashing their skills into the wall in brutal fashion. They cut off the walker’s faces and Alpha calls him “B” as she is the “A” (also to note, their given names were never heard up until this point). She tried to take Beta’s mask off, but he refused and told her to not come back.

Ryan Hurst as Beta – The Walking Dead _ Season 10, Episode 2 – Photo Credit: Jace Downs/AMC

In the present time at night, Gamma and Frances talk about what it was like for her to be alone with Alpha and apologized to her about risking everything. While they were controlling the herds in the morning, the satellite explosion from the previous episode happens and this is where we find out that this is happening at the same time as the previous episode. The walkers begin to walk to that direction and one of them, has a baby strapper attached and that distracted Frances. Frances tried to attack Alpha and the rest of The Whisperers tried to break it up and also clear the walkers at the same time. Gamma saved Alpha and Frances got devoured by walkers. Beta asked Alpha if she is okay and she says that she is calm despite that she lost three of their own and the walkers. In the past, Lydia keeps saying that “they are all monsters”. In the present, Alpha gathers all of The Whisperers to give tribute to Gamma. Beta asked Gamma in the morning if she has seen Alpha and she tells him where she is. In the past, Alpha is looking for Lydia and Lydia opened a closet door that had a walker behind it. Once Alpha went into another room, she killed a walker and Beta screamed. We find out here that the current clothes Beta wears along with the Whisperer mask belonged to his fallen friend and there was even a picture on the wall of both of them together with their faces taken off. In the current time, Alpha and Beta talk about Lydia and how she is not strong enough to move forward. Alpha has a breakdown as Beta did in the flashback when Alpha tried to calm him down. The difference here, is that Alpha does not want any of the rest of The Whisperers to know that Lydia is still alive.

In the past, Beta was about to kill Alpha and Lydia stopped it and told him that she is saving him. Alpha also screamed at her to never leave her again. Beta then goes on to say that he is the end of the world and Alpha replies saying that they are. In the current time, they both said “We walk in darkness, we are free, we fear nothing, we are free, embrace all death, we are free, we are the end of the world”. They all walk to the site where the satellite crashed and the episode ends the same way as last week but as Alpha sees Carol in her point of view.

Since we did not get a backstory on The Whisperers in the comic book series, I was happy to see how Alpha and Beta came up with the idea of The Whisperers. It was amazing to see how they transformed to who they are now whether if it is an evolution, or devolution depending on the prespective. Samantha Mortin is very chilling as Alpha and I would be legitimately scared if I was one of those whisperers alone with her. This episode happens as the same exact time as 10×01 and it is good to see how this one mirrors the first episode. Ryan Hurst also knocked it out the part as Beta along with Thora Birch as Gamma in this episode too!

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The Walking Dead Season 10, Episode 1 “Lines We Cross” Recap

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Norman Reedus as Daryl Dixon, Sydney Park as Cyndie; group – The Walking Dead _ Season 10, Episode 1 – Photo Credit: Jackson Lee Davis/AMC

The wait is over as the season 10 premiere of The Walking Dead is now here. Months after Alpha making it clear that she is not to be messed with, all of the communities gather together to train and to plan to fight back. Although they are ready for battle, they are still affected by the devistating loss of their own people. Here is my review for “Lines We Cross” which is also the same name of the comic book series Volume 29, and Issue #169 (But it does not follow the same story as those two, but only the name). Spoilers ahead so you have been warned.

The episode begins as we are shown a satellite in outer space. More on this later as it is trainning day at the beach of The Oceanside. Daryl is in charge of the milita as he, Ezekiel, and Michonne train all of the members of the group. There are also walkers inside the boat and Ezekiel and Jerry opened the door for the walkers to come out. That is when they have a formation (and also, badass looking shields) and start to kill the walkers first with arrows and then spears. Alden tossed one of his spears into one of the walkers and that looked cool. As some of the other walkers were pierced by the shields, Magna, Michonne, Judith, and Luke killed them with their own weapons. After the trainning, everyone eats lunch which is mostly seafood and Luke and Jules strike up a conversation and even get flirty too. Michonne and Daryl talked about the trainning in which he think went very well. Michonne also said that Tara would have been proud to see how they are doing. Jerry and his kids and Daryl’s dog arrive as well and then we see Judith and Rick Jr. After this, Judith finds a Whisperer mask. Aaron and Michonne are panicing about The Whisperers and Michonne decided to bring him, Magna, Yumiko, Alden, and Jules with her to investigate. They are riding horses and split up to three groups. Michonne and Aaron are near a bridge and Aaron thinks that the walkers are Whisperers and then killed the walkers on the bridge. He almost got killed until Michonne saved him. They both argue about the bridge and how it reminded her about Rick Grimes. Aaron also brought up Eric and Jesus in the same conversation. All six enter a campsite to further investigate and Magna and Luke showed everyone the human skin found which means that The Whisperers are back.

They all return to Oceanside and Michonne told Aaron that they are the good guys in this situation. Judith tells RJ the story about how Rick Grimes “died” to save his people on the bridge. Michonne was about to cry and she came to hug both of them. Moments later, an explosion from the sky happens as it was from the satellite in the opening of the episode. We then cut to Eugene helping Rosita with her baby and Rosita practice kickboxing Ronda Rousey style. Eugene and Siddiq talk about diaper changes and milk and Rosita lets Eugene know that her baby is not an experiment. Gabriel walks in and observes everyone. Lydia is in the school with the other residents and she is struggling on reading. While this happens, the counsel comes in and they all need the room. Negan, who is now growing a garden and has some privileges even though he is still a prisoner, talks with Lydia and she is the only one that wants to know more about Negan since he has been there for a very long time at this point. Negan tells her to watch her back around everyone and Brandon told Negan to stop talking and get back to work and for Lydia to not talk to him. The entire counsel of Gabriel, Rosita, Laura, and the rest leave the school and all ignored Negan after he tried to talk to them. After Siddiq puts the baby to sleep, he then has PTSD flashbacks of visions of Alpha murdering the pike victims. Dante (Who is a doctor on the television series) comes in and asks Siddiq if he is okay and makes a joke and asks about The Whisperers, As soon as he asked that question, more visions of Alpha are shown including one with her holding a bloody knife after she slain her victims.

Gabriel visits Negan in his cell and asks him for advice. Negan tells him to not outright lie to his community, but to basically cover his own self and give them a reason to be riled up. Negan also mentioned to him that he knows that The Whisperers are back. Gabriel then goes outside the cell and told everyone to lock the gates and then, the satellite explosion from the sky happens. Kelly and the rest are pulling fish from the ocean and Kelly almost fell into rocks. Connie thinks that his hearing is getting bad, but Kelly says that it is fine, but thinks that he hears different voices. Daryl with his dog come to check on Connie and Kelly. Later on, Ezekiel and Daryl are at the shore talking and waiting for someone to arrive. Connie with Daryl’s dog also arrive and when he tried to speak in sign language with her, she replied back saying that he has a southern accent in his sign language. They are still waiting for someone to arrive and that person is Carol. She arrived on a boat and she greeted Ezekiel and Daryl. She moved away so that she could not see The Whisperers ever again. Daryl and her take a ride on his motorcycle through the forest. Daryl and her talk about her wanting to come back. She even asks if the bracelet that he is making is for his dog and Daryl gives it to her. While they are hunting a deer, Carol wants to cross Alpha’s border to get it and Daryl told her that it is too late and the walkers begin to devour the deer. They both apologize to each other as they did not want to fight over anything. Then, the explosion from the satellite happens.

It is at this point where I realize that the satellite explosion from the sky is happening with everyone at the same exact time. The satellite (Which belonged to the USSR) crashed into the forest and caused a fire. All of the communities had no choice but to cross one of Alpha’s borders to put out the fire before it got worse. They all work together to put out the fire in different ways from using the water they had and dirt. As the fire was getting worse, walkers begin to appear. They all start trying their best at killing the walkers and putting out the fire at the same time based on Aaron and Michonne’s plan and direction. Even Carol put out a flaming walker with blood pouring from a walker that she just killed. There was even one cool scene where Daryl threw an axe into a burning tree for it to break and fall on the approaching burning walkers. The plan worked and it took them all night to clear the walkers. Eugene wants to bring back the satellite and Michonne was annoyed with the idea of bringing it back, but she asks some of the members of the group to help him bring it back quickly. Luke even calls Eugene “Eugenius” which I thought was funny. Daryl brings Carol to the location of the mega herd that Alpha showed Daryl and there were no walkers there. Daryl left for a moment and Carol looked down to see Alpha appear on the bottom as the episode ends.

This is a really great season premiere and I loved the comic scenes that were remixed on the television. This episode showcased that many members of the group are not ready to just move on like nothing happened to them months ago and that The Whisperers got under their skin far worse than The Saviors did. Daryl and Carol’s bond in this episode was beautiful and Judith telling the story about Rick Grimes made me sad at the moment. Also, a huge praise for Michonne stepping up more than ever to want to be a leader. Good that they did not waste any time to start building up the Carol and Alpha confrontation that everyone wanted to see when they first meet last season. I am looking forward to the next episode!

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The Walking Dead Season 10 Premiere Preview

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Norman Reedus as Daryl Dixon, Melissa McBride as Carol Peletier – The Walking Dead _ Season 10 – Photo Credit: Jackson Lee Davis/AMC

AMC’s The Walking Dead will return on October 6th 2019 with their tenth season. Many television shows do not make it to ten seasons and it is safe to say that The Walking Dead has made it. Last season, we seen the departure of Andrew Lincoln and this season, we will see the departure of Danai Gurira. It is very sad to see her go, but I have hope that this season will be great just like season 9 was. I was able to see the first episode of the tenth season (Lines We Cross) and before I give my full blown review on the 6th, I would like to give my first impressions of the episode.

This episode borrows and remixes material from the comic book issues #151, #139, and #149 in many ways. You will have to figure out when those scenes will come to play, but the beginning of the episode has a cool, organized walker kill sequence. In fact, later during the episode, you will see many walkers being killed while the entire group is dealing with a major conflict that happens during the episode. What the conflict is? It is something you would have never expected to see on the first shot of the episode. You will also see how the communities interract with eachother over the radio as well. Another thing that will be showcased is how many members of the group are still affected by Alpha’s border and what she did on “The Calm Before”.

As for the characters itself, Daryl and Carol had the best interactions of the episode and I am still happy that Daryl is talking much more now and is willing to become a leader too. Also to note, Daryl is trying to learn sign language when he talks to Connie and you will get a laugh out of that scene. Judith and Rick Jr also have a nice interaction and it is very heartwarming to see. Negan is also in this episode, and he is still not very well liked, but one member of the group wants to know more about him. You will also see new characters as well on the episode and one of them, is from the comics and his role from the comics has been changed on the show. Another great thing about the episode is Rosita’s baby and you will see the cute baby in this episode. There are also sad parts of the episode too and most of them are memories of Rick Grimes, Carl Grimes, Jesus and Eric. The way it is brought up though, I do not want to add here as I want the viewer to have that emotional feeling as much as I did. Daryl is not the only one taking upon a leadership role as Michonne is doing it too more confidently than ever before.

The end of the episode will have everyone talking and I know for sure, that everyone in the community of The Walking Dead wanted to see a certain showdown. It does not happen yet however, but it seems like it is starting to be built up. Overall, this season premiere is miles better than the season 9 premiere and it is jam packed with action, tension, storytelling, and also, fun to watch.

Be sure to check out my full review of the episode on October 5th and I will also livetweet from The Walking Dead panel at New York Comic Con next week. Follow me on Instagram and Twitter @julianexcalibur for more content. Contact me at julian@alternativemindz.com.

Why 2020 Is The Year of The Walking Dead

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The year 2020 is coming very close as we are almost half way into 2019 in a few more months. There has been recent news about the universe of The Walking Dead and I believe it is positive news. Although it will be the final season for Danai Gurira as Michonne, more great things will come along the way for the months to come. How her exit will be on the show is up in the air right now as we do not know how many episodes she will appear in. With that out of the way, here are the reasons why I believe that 2020 will be the year of The Walking Dead.

ISSUE #200 OF THE COMIC BOOK SERIES

By the end of this year, the comic book series of The Walking Dead will be up to issue #198. In Feburary 2020, the 200th issue will be in stores for everyone to read and I have a feeling that there will be something huge to go down on that issue. To refresh everyone’s memory, issue #50 was Carl Grimes’ biggest character development of the series so far, issue #100 was the debut of Negan along with Glenn’s brutal death, and issue #150, Rick Grimes declares that they will go to war against The Whisperers. With issue #200 on the horizon, what do you think will happen and although Robert Kirkman stated in one of the letter hacks of a recent issue that “No one dies in issue #200. There, I said it. Cannon–letters columns count!”, he could either be telling the truth, or hiding something much bigger than we think.

THE 150th EPISODE OF THE TELEVISION SHOW IN SEASON 11

Many people may have not noticed or kept track, but if The Walking Dead gets renewed for an 11th season, then the third episode of the 11th season of The Walking Dead will be the 150th episode! Way back in Season 8, We got the 100th episode which was the beginning of the All Out War arc and that episode also had many callbacks to the first episode of the series. Who knows what they will pull off in season 11, but I believe that the group will go to The Commonwealth any the beginning of the 11th season if the show gets renewed for that season.

THE THIRD SPINOFF SERIES

AMC Network recently announced that there will be a third spinoff series of the universe of The Walking Dead within the next year and the news opened up many possibilities of more crossovers between The Walking Dead and the second show Fear The Walking Dead. The only thing that we do know of now is that it will be a female lead main character. We do not know where it will take place or when in the timeline, but this will be something to look forward to and I have a feeling that the first major details will be revealed at San Diego Comic Con. Speaking of details, this Segways into…

THE MOVIES ABOUT RICK GRIMES

Yes! This is what all of the fans has been waiting for and I believe that we will have the first details about the movies at the San Diego Comic Con panel. There will be three movies in which Andrew Lincoln will reprise his role as Rick Grimes and hopefully, we can and will see what happened when Jadis took him away on the helicopter before the six year time skip begun. The bigger question, is whether if Rick will go look for Daryl, Michonne, and the rest after he is healed up. Since Jadis traded Heath for supplies (You can read about that here ), Will Rick Grimes reunite with him. We should get more information about it in the coming months.

Are you excited for what is to come for The Walking Dead in 2020?

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The Walking Dead News: Third Series to Premiere in 2020

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Matt Negrete, a veteran writer on the flagship, will serve as showrunner on the 10-episode series he co-created alongside franchise chief content officer Scott M. Gimple.

On Monday, AMC formally announced that it has picked up what is now the third series in the zombie drama’s larger world with a 10-episode order for an untitled drama co-created by Gimple and longtime flagship writer Matt Negrete. The latter, who has been a writer and producer on The Walking Dead for the past five seasons, will serve as showrunner. Coincidentally, Negrete and Gimple collaborated on the season nine episode (“What Comes After”) that served as the last one for series star Andrew Lincoln, who will reprise his role as embattled former sheriff Rick Grimes in three movies. It’s unclear if the new spinoff will be connected to those movies. It’s unclear if any characters from either The Walking Dead or spinoff Fear the Walking Dead will have a role in the third series. Stars and fan favorites Norman Reedus (Daryl) and Melissa McBride (Carol) have “franchise deals” that allow them to move freely between all corners of the universe, for example.

“I’m beyond excited to be a part of this new show set in The Walking Dead universe,” Negrete said. “Writing and producing for the original series has been the job of a lifetime and I’m honored to be working with Scott and all the fine Dead folks at AMC in this new capacity. I can’t wait for the fans of the franchise to see what we’ve been cooking up!”

Few details were immediately available about the third series other than that it will feature two young female protagonists and focus on the first generation to come-of-age in the apocalypse as viewers know it. Production will begin in the summer in Virginia for a 2020 premiere on AMC. The Lord of the Flies-like series will feature a new corner of the world. Here’s AMC’s formal description: “Some will become heroes. Some will become villains. In the end, all of them will be changed forever. Grown-up and cemented in their identities, both good and bad.” The order arrives as the original series introduced (and, spoiler alert, killed off) several younger characters in season nine.

“Showing audiences an unseen pocket of The Walking Dead universe steeped in a new mythology is a very cool way to celebrate a Decade of the Dead on TV and over 15 years of [creator] Robert Kirkman’s brilliant comic,” Gimple said. “Matt Negrete is one of the best writer-producers in TWD’s long history — I’m thrilled to be working beside him to tell stories unlike we’ve seen before, taking our first step into an even larger world.”

The untitled Negrete series is the first new series to stem from Gimple’s March 2018 promotion to chief content officer, a role he was given after Kirkman moved his overall deal from AMC to Amazon. Gimple and Kang wrote Lincoln out of the flagship drama so the actor could spend more time with his family at home in England. Gimple will re-team with Lincoln for three TV movies that will air on AMC and could potentially serve as back-door pilots for other series. Production on those is set to begin in 2019 though its unclear just where they will be filmed. TWD is filmed in Atlanta, while spinoff Fear the Walking Dead has used locations in L.A., Canada, Baja and Texas. Overall, there are now three scripted series and planned three stand-alone movies in the world of TWD as franchises increasingly become valuable to broadcast, cable and streaming platforms alike.

“We’re thrilled that the Dead will keep walking into a new corner of the post-apocalyptic world, a corner that will present stories and characters unlike any that The Walking Dead has dramatized thus far, and that is bound to excite one of the most passionate fanbases in television,” said David Madden, president of programming for AMC Networks and AMC Studios. “Scott has been an invaluable leader for the universe since taking on the role of chief content officer, with a distinct and innovative vision for the franchise. Likewise, we’re excited to have Matt, who has been a crucial part of The Walking Dead family for over five years and penned many memorable episodes of TWD, at the helm of this original series.”

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