‘The Walking Dead’ Universe Deserves a Dixon Brothers Offshoot

As The Walking Dead Universe expands with future series, films, specials and other digital content set across multiple time periods, network AMC should consider a limited-run prequel series or film franchise centered around Dixon brothers Daryl (Norman Reedus) and Merle (Michael Rooker).

Scott Gimple, chief content officer for the brand, said when announcing a trilogy of movies centered around Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) AMC has "much more on the way," including "yet-unseen worlds of The Walking Dead and faces from the show's past, as well as new characters we hope to become favorites, told by TWD veterans and emerging voices."

The plan, Gimple added, is to "break new ground with different, distinct stories, all part of the same world that's captured our imagination for nearly a decade of the Dead."

Merle, who was killed off following a Season Three assassination attempt on the Governor (David Morrissey), could be resurrected in a story set before the Dixon brothers linked up with the Atlanta group then led by Shane Walsh (Jon Bernthal) in The Walking Dead's inaugural season.

The brothers — meth-head hillbilly Merle and his then-loud-mouthed younger brother, bowman Daryl — were at the time intending to rob the group, a plan that changed following the arrival of newbie survivor Rick Grimes and his emerging as the de facto leader of the pack.

It was only later that a clash with so-called Officer Friendly left the problematic Merle handcuffed to a roof, which the elder Dixon escaped by severing his own hand before falling in as one of the Governor's loyal Woodbury enforcers.

Merle's suicide mission resulted in his reanimated form being put down by a tearful Daryl, who had a complicated history with his volatile older brother and their even more abusive father.

A story set after the global zombie outbreak but before the events of The Walking Dead Season One played out in poorly-received 2013 prequel video game The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct, centered around Daryl and Merle's trek to Atlanta, which saw both stars reprise their television roles.

Should the limitless franchise expand upon the dramatically rich Dixon brothers dynamic, it will have to come outside the mothership series: Season Nine has since put nearly a decade distance between current events and Merle's death, limiting Rooker's future involvement to flashbacks or hallucinations.

Reedus and Rooker could instead anchor their own offshoot, sure to be a welcomed development for fans who have long insisted "if Daryl dies, we riot."

Lincoln told THR "the possibilities are endless" when it comes to developing the blossoming Walking Dead Universe, advocating for a pair of miniseries headlined by both Rooker's Merle and Jeffrey Dean Morgan's Negan.

"It's an extraordinary environment and landscape, the mythology that Robert Kirkman has created, and I love that. I want to see that with Negan. That's a backstory that I want to see on the mothership; I'm fascinated by it," Lincoln said.

"But [this franchise] can pull people backwards and forwards. I would love to see Michael Rooker back on screen in a miniseries. With these kinds of shows, we are afforded the opportunity to bounce around narratively and be able to play with time."

Speaking to Paste Magazine in 2017, Rooker said the role — created specifically for the television series, then under the stewardship of showrunner Frank Darabont — was "perfectly adapted" for him, before crediting Merle Dixon as an "amazing" career boost and "a dream come true."

Reedus, who has since inked a hefty three-year franchise deal that allows for appearances outside the flagship show, previously told ComicBook.com he intends to stay on with The Walking Dead until the end — suggesting the star would be open to portraying Daryl in another project, even when considering his already busy schedule as part of the mothership series' sizable ensemble.

The Walking Dead: Red Machete director Avi Youabian hinted in June even long-dead franchise favorites could return in future short-form stories, supported by a recent tease from Abraham Ford star Michael Cudlitz, who hinted he'll be one of the familiar faces returning to the Walking Dead Universe:

"In the future, you can probably expect to see a little bit more connectivity to the show universe, if not the expanded show's universe. I think folks want to see a bit more of folks that either have already passed on the show, or folks that we haven't spent enough time with," Youabian said.

"As I believe Scott Gimple has teased in the past, we're going to see more of these kinds of things and unique ways to tell stories that aren't so strictly narrative-based."

Added Red Machete writer Nick Bernardone, "I would love to see more cross-over narrative from mothership shows — not just Walking Dead, but seeing more backstories for characters on these digital series."

"I know there are people who would love to see more of those stories being told, and sometimes you just don't have the real estate to do it on the air — time to expand on characters that are maybe not the A story, but more like B- or C-story characters," Bernardone said.

"I know the fans of the universe would get a kick out of that."