Rick and Michonne are reuniting!
On Friday, AMC announced at San Diego Comic-Con that the highly-anticipated spinoff starring Danai Gurira and Andrew Lincoln will be titled The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live — and gave fans a first look at the series.
In the clip, Michonne (Gurira) sees flashes of the pair’s intense battles and says, "I’ve been out there a long time. I lost someone, years ago. And then things changed. I found out that he’s alive." And Rick (Lincoln) reemerges.
The final moment of the teaser trailer revealed the title and the show’s 2024 release.
In the ninth season of The Walking Dead, Rick was presumed dead but Michonne later learned her spouse had survived and set out to find him once again.
At Comic-Con 2022, Lincoln and Gurira surprised the crowd and announced the Rick and Michonne series was on its way. The limited series will replace the Rick Grimes movies that were first announced when Lincoln left TWD in 2018.
"We … have been cooking something up for you all because we missed you and we owe you the conclusion of this story of Rick and Michonne," Gurira said at the time.
"I personally can't wait to get my cowboy boots back on and get the band back together," Lincoln added.
According to Deadline, the spinoff will focus on the "epic love story of two characters changed by a changed world." The challenges that come from their long separation will be explored in, and among, those of the ever-present threat of zombie attacks.
AMC also announced at the annual fan convention that Maggie (Lauren Cohan) and Negan's (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) spinoff, The Walking Dead: Dead City, was renewed for a second season ahead of Sunday’s season 1 finale, while The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon, starring Norman Reedus, scored a sophomore season renewal before its Sept. 10 premiere.
“This next chapter in the Walking Dead Universe continues to thrive with a terrific inaugural season for Dead City and highly anticipated new journey for fan-favorite character Daryl Dixon coming in September,” said AMC president of entertainment Dan McDermott. “We can’t wait to bring Dead City fans back to the epicenter of Manhattan for more zip-lining action with Maggie and Negan.”
McDermott continued: “And, ahead of its debut, we’re thrilled to double down on Daryl as we bring the apocalypse to France, transforming Notre Dame, Pont du Gard and other iconic locales into an apocalyptic landscape unlike anything we’ve seen before.”
In the trailer for the upcoming season of The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon, a waterlogged Daryl Dixon arrives on the shores of France.
Shortly after reaching land, a nun (Clémence Poésy) asks him, "How did you come to be in France?” and he responds, "A bunch of bad decisions." He asks her the same question and she replies, “A bunch of good decisions.”
The nun also reveals that his arrival was highly-anticipated, sharing, "We've been waiting for you. You're the messenger. To deliver Laurent (Louis Puech Scigliuzzi).”
“I know you can get him there safely,” she adds. “He’s ready.”
“Ready for what?” Daryl questions and she responds, “To lead the revival of humanity.”
The show chronicles Daryl's "journey across a broken but resilient France as he hopes to find a way back home. As he makes the journey, though, the connections he forms along the way complicate his ultimate plan,” according to a press release from the network.
In September, the actor teased how the new series is "going to be f---ing epic" in an interview with Entertainment Weekly. Reedus added that fans can expect the show to feel different from the original series.
"We knew we wanted to make a show that went in the opposite direction just because we didn't want to do the same thing," he explained. "So that's what we're doing. And it's going to be way different."
"The story's way different," the actor continued. "The characters are way different. There's a different tone. There's different light. There's a different sound."
"It's a whole different vibe," he finished.
The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon premieres Sunday, Sept. 10 at 9 p.m. ET and Fear the Walking Dead Season 8B debuts Oct. 22 at 9 p.m. ET on AMC and AMC+. The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live is set to be released in 2024.
