‘The Walking Dead’s Austin Amelio Wants a “Super Dark Journey” For Dwight

If or when Dwight ends his exile and rejoins The Walking Dead, actor Austin Amelio hopes to see the former Savior go on a “super dark journey.”

Asked if audiences will ever see Dwight’s search for Sherry during an appearance at FanX convention over the weekend, Amelio said, “I think he’s been doing that. Right? I mean, I don’t know, hopefully.”

“It’s pretty much the whole point of my character, so if I’m not searching for Sherry, I’m dead,” he added with a laugh. “I’d like to see it go that way, that would be nice.”

Season Eight ended with Dwight spared and subsequently exiled by Daryl (Norman Reedus) after acting as a mole for the allied communities, risking his life to help bring down Savior leader Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan). With that goal achieved, Dwight was last seen hunting clues in search of his missing wife (Christine Evangelista) — a quest Amelio hopes to see play out in the show.

“I would just like to see Dwight sort of go on a super dark journey, where he just has to do all this crazy sh-t in order to find her,” he said.

“‘Cause it hasn’t been dark enough, having your face burned with an iron,” interjected co-star Tom Payne, who plays kung fu-fighting Hilltop number two Jesus.

“Darker!” Amelio joked. “I need it darker! Burn my body!”

When the controversial topic of Negan’s punishment was raised, Amelio said he personally sides with Alexandria leader Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln), who opted to jail Negan despite the cries for harsher justice from Maggie (Lauren Cohan).

“I think there is something to say about just putting him in jail and letting him rot. Because you know, there’s a window right, like death is coming, so that’s all you’re pretty much looking forward to,” Amelio said. “I would just like to let him rot in his thoughts.”

Negan routinely abused and belittled Dwight, taking Sherry as a “wife” and disfiguring half of Dwight’s face with an iron before taking the bowman as a tortured prisoner — injustices Amelio would keep in mind when doling out punishment for the dethroned bad guy.

“I’d just feed him dog sandwiches and torture him,” Amelio said.

Previously at the convention, Amelio was asked how he would like seeing the television series adapt Dwight’s comic book storyline, where he declared himself the new leader of the Saviors, assumed control of the Sanctuary, and acted as a trusted ally of Rick Grimes and company.

“I really like that. I’m f—king ready, man,” Amelio said. “I’ve gone through the ringer, so I think that would be a nice cherry on top. Yeah, I really like that. It’d be fun.”

When The Walking Dead returns for its ninth season, 18 months will have passed since the Season Eight finale. Dwight has yet to reappear, but executive producer Scott Gimple said during San Diego Comic-Con he’s “working on something to announce,” suggesting another spinoff out of the Walking Dead universe is in the works.

Gimple, now Chief Content Officer for the entire Walking Dead brand, previously said the universe will not be limited to just television shows, but will grow to include more short-form series — like Flight 462 or Red Machete — and could potentially include digital series, any of which could be used to play out Dwight’s side story.

He said he hopes to explore “different ways to tell stories, possibly with characters we know and possibly with characters we don’t.”

The Walking Dead Season Nine debuts Sunday, October 7 on AMC.