Norman Reedus shares new details about his The Walking Dead universe spinoff Daryl Dixon. The road has finally ended for AMC’s long-running zombie drama based on the comic book from Robert Kirkman and Tony Moore. But the Walking Dead Universe appears to just be getting started, as three new TWD spinoffs are set to launch in the coming months. Arguably the most interesting of these spinoffs is Daryl Dixon, a show centered on Reedus’ fan-favorite character.
The Walking Dead’s series finale indeed ended with Daryl climbing on his trusty motorcycle and riding off to find new adventures in the world of the post-apocalypse (without his best friend Carol). It’s already been revealed that Daryl ultimately winds up in France, where he makes some shocking new discoveries about the nature of the virus that caused the zombie outbreak in the first place. Now Reedus himself has filled in some more blanks about Daryl Dixon, while teasing the strong fish-out-of-water vibes that will set in once Daryl arrives on European shores. Check out Reedus’ remarks to EW in the space below:
"People are speaking French around me, and part of my story is me trying to figure out, 'Is this good or is this bad? Are we about to get into a fight or are we friends right now?' I'm trying to read lips with the language that I don't understand and I'm reading body language, I'm reading tone. I'm reading all sorts of things, and it's confusing and I'm figuring it out. I figure out how to get out of it, and how do I get to the next step. It's all part of the story. So is it weird? Yeah, it's weird, but that's the show we're making. So it's working really well."
How Daryl Dixon Will Expand The Walking Dead Universe
The Walking Dead was of course set entirely within the United States. So by traveling to Europe, Daryl Dixon expands the boundaries of the universe in a very literal geographic way. But clearly, Daryl’s spinoff is out to do more than just send Daryl on a trip to a foreign country where people speak differently, leading to all sorts of humorous – and potentially dangerous – misunderstandings.
Reedus himself has indeed teased how Daryl Dixon will fundamentally change things up for the Walking Dead Universe. “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,” Reedus said in a different interview with EW back in September. What exactly this means remains to be seen. But it seems Daryl Dixon will represent a shift in tone for The Walking Dead. To start with, the zombies will be different this time around, as the spinoff show is set to feature more of the fast, smart walkers who were teased (and arguably ended up being underused) by The Walking Dead during the final episodes of season 11.
It has also been teased that more revelations about the original zombie outbreak are in the offing in Daryl Dixon. The Walking Dead: World Beyond set this all up with a brief glimpse of TWD season 1 character Dr. Edwin Jenner, and a hint that the outbreak actually began in France and may have been the result of biological research. It certainly seems that Daryl is about to meet up with some people who know about the outbreak and perhaps are even working on a cure. The Walking Dead of course largely avoided getting into the specifics of the zombie virus, preferring instead to focus on the lives of survivors. But Daryl Dixon may be about to really change things up by providing some answers to several long-standing questions about the nature of the outbreak. That by itself might represent the most exciting way the show is about to expand The Walking Dead Universe.
Source: EW