Warning! Contains spoilers for The Walking Dead season 11!
The Walking Dead’s future proves that season 11 isn’t actually the end of the story. However, that’s exactly how it’s been depicted. AMC’s marketing for the show has emphasized the fact that the series is in the midst of its “final season”. The Walking Dead, based on Robert Kirkman's eponymous comic book series, began its legacy in 2010 and has continued on for a whopping 11 seasons. The show introduced viewers to a hyperrealistic post-apocalyptic world that has been overrun by "walkers," aka zombies, and the inevitable fallout that happens when survivors try to band together. The end of TWD saw order restored among the main group, though Rick is still separated and Michonne and Daryl are hoping to find him.
Former police officer Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) was the leader of the series' main group up until his Walking Dead season 9 exit. The comics saw his death at the hands of The Commonwealth's Sebastian Milton, but the TV series had other plans for the character in The Walking Dead ending. Though The Walking Dead finished off with a bang, neatly tying up some major loose ends, there's still enough intrigue left surrounding popular side characters that the franchise now has several spinoffs in the works. These include a Michonne and Rick miniseries, a Daryl solo series, and Maggie and Negan's new show, The Walking Dead: Dead City. Even though season 11 marks the end of TWD, the story is far from over.
Walking Dead Characters Returning In Spinoffs Or Movies After Season 11
At least four principal characters from The Walking Dead are confirmed to appear after the end of TWD. Maggie (Lauren Cohan) and Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) will co-lead AMC’s The Walking Dead: Dead City, whereas Norman Reedus will reprise his role as Daryl in an untitled spinoff set in Europe. Andrew Lincoln is still slated to return as Rick Grimes, as is Danai Gurira as Michonne, in a six-part miniseries after his surprising reappearance in The Walking Dead ending. And according to Reedus, Carol (Melissa McBride) won’t be around right away, but she should come back into the picture at some point down the road.
Depending on where it all leads, AMC’s promised Rick Grimes series – and not The Walking Dead season 11 — may be the real ending to the story. So while there was some sense of finality when the zombie hoard was defeated in The Walking Dead ending and a truly peaceful society was formed, the series won’t be able to escape the feeling that there are so many more stories left to be told in the franchise’s future. Rick, Negan, Maggie, Daryl, Michonne, Carol, and possibly others still have much to do before it’s all over.
The Walking Dead Didn't End - It Evolved
With all The Walking Dead spinoffs happening, it's clear that the larger story isn't over, and that it has simply just evolved. In order to keep up with the current landscape of the entertainment industry, the end of TWD means that the spirit of the show can grow past its original roots. While the main series has gone on for over a decade, the franchise itself is still profitable, as proven by the success of Fear the Walking Dead and the new Tales of the Walking Dead. Few shows have been able to come up with multiple spinoffs and succeed, but The Walking Dead is no ordinary show.
The Walking Dead has been on-air for over a decade. Since it has been around for such a long time, the TV show needed to adapt with the times, and thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic and the popularity of streaming services, the way the entertainment industry operates has changed drastically over the past 5 years. The Walking Dead is simply keeping up by producing spinoffs rather than continuing the show with season 12 or creating a movie series. All in all, The Walking Dead's story isn't ending with season 11, and fans of the franchise have plenty more to look forward to.