How will AMC's The Walking Dead come to an end when season 11 airs in 2022? The Walking Dead has survived controversy, falling ratings, major cast departures and a real life pandemic, but marches on despite missing a few limbs and looking somewhat less fresh than it did in 2010. Based on the comic book by Robert Kirkman, the original version of The Walking Dead ran from 2003 to 2019 and ended upon completion of the Commonwealth arc. The TV adaptation is now gearing up to introduce The Commonwealth in the season 10 finale, so wrapping up in season 11 is more or less consistent with the structure of the comic books.
However, that doesn't necessarily mean The Walking Dead will end the same way. The TV series has made a number of significant deviations over the years, from killing off Carl Grimes to introducing the mysterious CRM group. AMC have also confirmed that the Walking Dead saga will continue via a spin-off starring Norman Reedus' Daryl Dixon and Melissa McBride's Carol Peletier, the only original cast members still around. With so many different elements in play, there's no guarantee that The Walking Dead will follow the finale set out by the pages of Robert Kirkman's comic.
The Walking Dead fans needn't worry about the show ending just yet. There's the delayed season 10 finale, an additional 6 episodes in 2021, and then a full final season still to enjoy, not to mention Fear The Walking Dead, World Beyond, and the Rick Grimes movie. The vast expansion of the zombie apocalypse on TV opens up even more possibilities for how The Walking Dead could end. Taking into consideration everything currently known about the future of the franchise, here are three possible ending routes The Walking Dead could take.
The Walking Dead Could (Almost) Follow The Comics
AMC's The Walking Dead has already written itself out of an authentic ending, but could still manage a close interpretation of Kirkman's original finale. In The Walking Dead's comics, Rick and Maggie manage to avert civil war within the Commonwealth, forging a new, stronger partnership between all communities. Tragically, Rick is killed in a cowardly sneak attack, threatening another outbreak of violence, but Carl follows his father's example and cooler heads prevail. Flashforward to the future, and Carl is married to Sophia (Carol's daughter) and has a child of his own. The Alexandria-Commonwealth safe zone has grown exponentially, and many citizens haven't seen a wild zombie in years. Alas, there's an element of complacency to the new world - Carl is constantly forced to remind everyone that danger still exists, but it's a positive and hopeful final chapter nonetheless.
With Rick vanished and Carl already long dead (Sophia exited way back in season 2), The Walking Dead's TV series can't emulate this storyline exactly, but could substitute Carl for Judith, who died as an infant in the comics. The live-action flashforward would center around Judith's future family instead of Carl's, but depict a similarly peaceful world where civilization is finally making a comeback. Judith's personality also suits Carl's role of "grizzled zombie veteran who never lets their guard down" from the comics. As for The Walking Dead's present timeline, following the source material would mean making a new allegiance with the Commonwealth and, after some initial disagreements, a brighter future with a powerful new partner.
This ending would be the most authentic option, satisfyingly upbeat while still retaining a hint of darkness. It wouldn't, however, address the various TV-exclusive pieces currently on the board. The CRM, the spin-off storylines, Rick's survival - The Walking Dead has more to resolve in live-action than it did in printed form, and mirroring the original ending wouldn't check every box. Additionally, it's far trickier to pull off a lengthy time jump on screen than in the comic world. Not only would every character need to be aged-up by approximately a decade, an entirely new actress would be required to play Judith.
The Walking Dead's CRM Could Kill Everyone
The Walking Dead has, by and large, been a depressing watch. Aside from the constant threat of being eaten alive, viewers have witnessed Glenn get brutally murdered, wholesome characters be cruelly killed off, and beacons of hope continuously extinguished by villains, both undead and still breathing. Given the stench of death that has doggedly followed The Walking Dead around for its full 10-season run, it's impossible to rule out a shocking ending in which the majority of the cast are killed off and the bad guys win - and the means to do so has already been introduced.
The CRM, otherwise known as the "helicopter group," are by far the most developed society yet to feature in the entire world of The Walking Dead, but it's not yet clear whether they're good guys or not. On one hand, the CRM are trying to change the world for the better, but on the other, they've abducted people in secret and killed their own members to prevent news of the CRM's existence spreading. The CRM's primary goal might be virtuous - end the zombie apocalypse, or something similar - but their methods are highly questionable, and could put the organization on a collision course with Alexandria. Created exclusively for The Walking Dead's TV series, the CRM is a partnership of 3 unknown communities and the "C" could potentially stand for "Commonwealth." As seen in Fear The Walking Dead, the CRM don't take kindly to their presence becoming public knowledge, so if the Commonwealth and Alexandria start getting friendly towards the end of The Walking Dead season 10, the CRM might decide to take action in season 11, wiping out virtually every character other than Daryl and Carol.
While this ending would be a morose conclusion to The Walking Dead, a massacre would better fit the wider franchise plans currently in motion. The destruction of Alexandria and its residents would neatly explain why Daryl and Carol have their own spin-off, and the CRM would be established as the big new villains, paying off years of setup. This uber-miserable, violent ending would also tie into Rick Grimes' arc. Rick was last seen being whisked away by a CRM chopper, but as confirmed in The Walking Dead season 10, has since been out on the road. Strangely, Rick didn't decide to return home to his family. After his brush with the CRM, Rick might've spent years trying to escape his captors, and couldn't return to Alexandria for fear of leading the CRM right to his family and friends. This would be explored further when Andrew Lincoln makes his big screen return.
The Walking Dead's Super Happy Ending - Rick Returns & A Possible Cure
The Walking Dead might be an inherently violent story with a history of heartbreaking character deaths, but that doesn't mean the final episode can't be an uplifting affair. The comic book's ending was largely positive, but came with certain caveats that prevented full-scale saccharine emotional overload. Bad habits had crept back into the community, and some of Rick Grimes' lessons had evidently been forgotten in the more peaceful era. Fresh roots of capitalism were also beginning to peek through, with Glenn and Maggie's son running a zombie circus show, risking lives for his own profit. Rick had helped to forge a world where children could grown happy and free, but the zombie threat was still very much a reality.
AMC's The Walking Dead has all the tools to stretch even further into "happy ending" territory, with touching reunions and the promise of a genuine solution to the zombie problem. This potential finale would begin by copying the comic books, with Alexandria and The Commonwealth averting a full-scale conflict and becoming true partners, promising to bravely meet the future together and rebuild the world. Then instead of a flashforward years into the future, the closing episode could include a shorter time jump of less than a year, in which Rick Grimes and Michonne make their grand return to Alexandria. Rick would reveal that he has been working to find a cure for the zombie virus alongside the CRM, but now requires the help of his old friends.
Once again, this ending would coalesce with the other Walking Dead projects currently on the boil. Rick's mission to find a cure would explain his absence, confirm the importance of the CRM, and give Daryl and Carol a reason to head out alone. A potential cure for the zombie virus is already being teased as a future plot point by Walking Dead: World Beyond. The spin-off's premise sees a group of youngsters embark on a mission to find Dr. Leo Bennett, a world renowned biochemist with knowledge of the zombie outbreak. The lead protagonists seem to be part of the CRM, drawing a triangular link between Rick, a potential cure, and the CRM. This ending would offer the best of both worlds - a satisfying and definitive close to The Walking Dead, while feeding into the other spin-offs and movies in the works.
The Walking Dead season 10 returns with "A Certain Doom" October 4th on AMC.