Warning! SPOILERS ahead for The Walking Dead season 11 part 2.
The Walking Dead season 11, part 3 will be the final episodes in the show's long run, and here's when they might release. While The Walking Dead doesn't draw the massive audience it did in earlier seasons, there's no denying it remains one of the most popular TV shows on the air. Now that it's finally coming to a close, though, viewers will likely check in just to see how The Walking Dead wraps up its decade-long story.
The Walking Dead coming to a close is the end of an era in television, but AMC isn't through with the property just yet. In addition to Fear the Walking Dead, which is currently on season 7, there are several more spinoffs that have been announced: Tales of the Walking Dead, an anthology series; Isle of the Dead with Maggie and Negan; and a still-untitled spinoff for Carol and Daryl. There are also three feature-length movies in the works, the first of which will continue the stories of Rick and Michonne.
How The Walking Dead ends is sure to impact all of these spinoffs, and it will all come down to these final eight episodes. Here's when The Walking Dead season 11, part 3 could premiere. It also breaks down what viewers can expect from the final episodes, and how the show might close out the long-running zombie series.
Walking Dead Season 11, Part 3 Should Release This Summer
The Walking Dead season 11 is the longest entry in the show, totaling 24 episodes and released in three batches of eight. Part 1 of The Walking Dead season 11 premiered on August 22, 2021, and part 2 was released on February 20, 2022. As of now, The Walking Dead season 11, part 3 doesn't have an official release date, but it's estimated the show will likely return in late summer.
Filming has wrapped on Walking Dead season 11, and a summer release of either late August or early September leaves time for post-production. Tales of the Walking Dead is also set to premiere this summer, but it's unknown whether it will air alongside the original show's final season or in the lead-up to its premiere. The latter is the more likely option since it allows AMC to have Walking Dead content airing for a longer stretch of time, similar to how Fear the Walking Dead season 7 is only returning now that The Walking Dead season 11, part 2 has finished.
Walking Dead Season 11 Part 3 Story Details
The Walking Dead season 11, part 2 ends with Lance Hornsby claiming Alexandria, Hilltop, and Oceanside for The Commonwealth. This turn of events follows Hornsby's failed attempt at killing Maggie, as well as Daryl, Aaron, and Gabriel openly rebelling against him. With no homes to return to, these survivors are now on the run. They've allied with Walking Dead's Negan, his new wife, Annie, and her group from Riverbend, but even together they're no match for the Commonwealth soldiers guarding their former communities.
When season 11, part 3 returns, Hornsby is sure to be hunting for them, and it's almost certain that resolving this conflict will make up a bulk of the show's final episodes. Meanwhile, Connie, Kelly, Eugene, Max, Magna, and Ezekiel are spearheading an investigation into The Commonwealth's missing residents. They're hoping to dig up more dirt on the misdeeds of The Commonwealth's elite, and what they uncover is sure to create more tension within a community where a resistance to the ruling class is already brewing.
How Walking Dead Season 11, Part 3 Could End (Based On The Comics)
Given the many changes AMC's The Walking Dead has made from the comics, it's very unlikely the show will end in the same way — but there will be similarities. The resistance brewing among the Commonwealth's lower classes, for example, is sure to boil over just as in the comics. Mercer will also likely rebel against Governor Pamela Milton, and a civil war could threaten to break out.
In the comics, Rick stops this from happening and Pamela is then arrested, making way for a more equitable government to be installed at The Commonwealth. The comics also end with Rick being killed by Sebastian, and while it comes as a shock, his death ultimately helps pave the way for a more peaceful future. The Walking Dead comics then give a glimpse at this future, ending on a flash-forward of an adult Carl raising his own family and many characters, including Michonne, Maggie, and Negan, still alive and well in the safer world Rick helped to create.
The planned Walking Dead spinoffs and movies mean it's unlikely The Walking Dead show will end with any such flash-forward. It's also unlikely Rick will have a role in the show's finale (though it's not impossible). Sebastian could still kill a major character, but the spinoffs have limited who that could be. Season 11, part 3 will almost certainly resolve the conflict with The Commonwealth, and it's likely it will reintroduce the Civic Republic as part of its setup for the spinoffs and movies. In the end, The Walking Dead will hopefully give its survivors a chance at the peaceful life they've fought so hard for, while also making it meaningful that this won't actually be end of many characters' journeys.