‘The Walking Dead’s Austin Amelio Says His ‘Fear’ Return Is a Spoiler

Austin Amelio’s Dwight is at the center of the second crossover between The Walking Dead and Fear the Walking Dead, but Amelio’s return to the interconnected Walking Dead Universe is shrouded in secrecy.

“It was a long, long journey,” a tight-lipped Amelio said at WonderCon when prompted for an explanation behind Dwight’s cross-country trek to Texas, where he reconnects with familiar face Morgan (Lennie James). “And I now have a beard. It’s about all I can say.”

Amelio, seated just steps away from Walking Dead chief content officer and franchise architect Scott Gimple, also couldn’t reveal if Dwight came across wife Sherry (Christine Evangelista) in his travels, who may have tipped Dwight towards Texas when she left him a note reading “Honeymoon” in The Walking Dead‘s Season Eight finale.

Unlike his comic book counterpart — who until recently continued on as a key figure in the Walking Dead story after the defeat of Negan, emerging as a trusted ally of Rick Grimes and leader of the new Saviors — Amelio’s Dwight was banished from Virginia under threat of death by Daryl (Norman Reedus), who doesn’t exist in the books, making his new story on Fear unpredictable.

Asked if any of Dwight’s abandoned comic book stories could play out on Fear Season Five, Amelio could only hopelessly throw his hands in the air. “I really wish there’s a question I can answer, man,” Amelio said empathetically. “Tune in on June 2.”

The star could speak openly, however, on filming in his hometown of Austin, Texas.

“It’s the best, it’s the best feeling ever. It’s come full circle,” Amelio said. “It’s kind of trippy, you know? I started off acting there, and now I’m back. On something that’s a big show, so it’s nice.”

That secret-keeping prolongs more than a year’s worth of confidentiality, as Amelio could only acknowledge his joining Fear in January:

“I get to have a consistent job and work with amazing people. There’s too many memories to expand upon. For some reason, Dwight keeps getting blessed with the best of both worlds,” Amelio said at Wizard World New Orleans.

“I got to work with actors from Alexandria and the Saviors. Now I get to work with actors from Fear the Walking Dead. After a year and two months of being a really good secret keeper, that’s really exciting, I get to work with everybody in this world. I feel really blessed.”

Beyond the inclusion of Dwight, the coming season of Fear will feature other ties to the wider Walking Dead Universe — potentially including a connection to the helicopter group responsible for rescuing-slash-abducting Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln).

“Beyond Austin, [there will be] this very interesting commonality, this story strand that’s gonna be furthered on this show that started on The Walking Dead,” Gimple said at WonderCon. “And who knows where it will go? But that’s the thing on tap right now.”

Fear the Walking Dead Season Five premieres Sunday, June 2 on AMC.

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