The Walking Dead spinoff's new official synopsis teases Rick and Michonne to be at odds at some point in the series. Andrew Lincoln starred as Rick Grimes from The Walking Dead season 1 until season 9, with his character being airlifted to an unknown community and Rick's friends presuming him dead. Danai Gurira's Michonne similarly left the series during The Walking Dead season 10 after finding out Rick was alive and embarking on a search for him. That search was teased during the duo's return scene on the main show's series finale and will continue in the Rick & Michonne The Walking Dead spinoff.
AMC has issued a press release that announces the slate for the four series' premiere in The Walking Dead universe, including the Rick & Michonne The Walking Dead spinoff. The Walking Dead's series finale ending saw Rick and Michonne return in a final scene that teased their path on the upcoming spinoff. While the newly released synopsis continues that scene's theme of Rick and Michonne finding each other and resuming their love story, it also teases some conflict for the characters in the spinoff. The series starts filming this year for a 2024 release, and the new synopsis can be seen below:
"Lincoln and Gurira reunite for a new spinoff series that will finally continue the journey of Rick Grimes and Michonne characters. This series presents an epic love story of two characters changed by a changed world. Kept apart by distance. By an unstoppable power. By the ghosts of who they were. Rick and Michonne are thrown into another world, built on a war against the dead… And ultimately, a war against the living. Can they find each other and who they were in a place and situation unlike any they’ve ever known before? Are they enemies? Lovers? Victims? Victors? Without each other, are they even alive — or will they find that they, too, are the Walking Dead?"
How Could Rick & Michonne Be Enemies In The Walking Dead Spinoff?
Throughout his nine-season journey on The Walking Dead, Rick has shown at every step that his friends and family are what's most important to him, making all the hardships he faces worth it – if they mean keeping the others safe. The Walking Dead Rick Grimes & Michonne spinoff appears to include a plot line that will involve Rick and Michonne being at odds at some point in the show. While it is unlikely that the duo becomes outright enemies in the AMC show, it does have one path to explore that might explain why Rick and Michonne will have some conflict during the story.
In The Walking Dead's timeline, Rick was presumed dead for years after blowing up a bridge full of walkers and himself. Whenever Michonne manages to track him down in the spinoff, Rick could be a different person from who she last saw. The Walking Dead universe's CRM, the overarching evil community of the shows, will have had Rick either working for them or as a prisoner for years by the time Michonne finds him. Rick's return in The Walking Dead series finale teased that storyline, with the character being caught by a CRM helicopter after attempting to escape. There's no telling just how deep the CRM's claws will have dug into Rick when he next appears.
Why The Rick & Michonne Series Needs More Than 1 Season
There is still no official word from AMC on how many seasons each of the three upcoming The Walking Dead spinoffs will have. While Gurira's busy schedule with the role of Okoye in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and other endeavors might prove difficult for a long commitment, it would be very hard for the Rick & Michonne spinoff to satisfyingly wrap up the couple's story in one six-episode season. The Rick & Michonne spin-off needs multiple seasons to properly reintroduce the characters (who have been missing for years in the real world time and The Walking Dead universe), explain what they have been up to since their last appearance, reunite to defeat the CRM, and return home for an epic The Walking Dead reunion with Daryl, Judith, and the rest of the family.
Source: AMC