TWD: Daryl Dixon Begins Filming in France
As Norman Reedus bids "adieu" to The Walking Dead after 11 seasons, the actor is saying "bonjour" to the Daryl Dixon spin-off. Reedus took to Instagram Monday to reveal the first season is in production as filming has officially begun in Paris, France. "Day 1. LetsGO!!" Reedus captioned the photo of himself in costume as Daryl, the crossbow-wielding zombie apocalypse survivor who somehow winds up in Europe after the events of The Walking Dead's November 20th series finale. See Reedus' announcement and first-look photo from the Daryl Dixon set below.
According to AMC president Dan McDermott, the Walking Dead spin-off focuses on Daryl as "he wakes up and finds himself somewhere on the European continent and tries to piece together what happened. How did he get here? How's he going to get home?"
"Somehow I get put there, and I don't go there on my own free will," Reedus revealed on Jimmy Kimmel Live! "I've been out there [in France] location scouting and casting and everything for the last couple of months. It's epic. Castles, and moats of castles, it's just crazy."
The series, which has revealed the working title The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon, was originally developed by Angela Kang and Scott M. Gimple as the Daryl & Carol spin-off co-starring Reedus and Melissa McBride. The longtime Carol actress bowed out when a move overseas became "logistically untenable," but McBride is expected to reprise her role in the future.
Current Walking Dead showrunner Kang remains on the project as a producer. Gimple, the chief content officer of AMC's Walking Dead Universe, serves as executive producer with showrunner David Zabel (ER, Mercy Street).
What Is the Daryl Dixon Spin Off About?
"Daryl is a fish out of water to start with. If Daryl finds himself with new people, he's a fish out of water. In France, in a country that's going through the apocalypse, [it's] an entirely different thing," Gimple said on The Walking Dead Universe Preview special. "He finds himself having to reinvent himself again, having to find himself again, and also, not being with — probably — the only people in the world he's comfortable with."
Gimple also confirmed Daryl would face off against the smarter Variant walkers that have appeared in recent episodes of The Walking Dead, tying into the post-credits coda of The Walking Dead: World Beyond. That scene was set within France's la Biomédicine DDMI lab, where graffiti revealed an ominous message: LES MORTS SONT NES ICL, or "the dead are born here."
The Walking Dead Spin Off Shows
TWD: Daryl Dixon is one of three new Walking Dead spin-off shows slated to air in 2023 on AMC and AMC+. Coming next year is The Walking Dead: Dead City, sending rivals Maggie (Lauren Cohan) and Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) traveling together into post-apocalyptic Manhattan, and the Rick & Michonne series finally reuniting Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) and Michonne (Danai Gurira).
Follow @CameronBonomolo and @NewsOfTheDead on Twitter for TWD Universe coverage all season long. New episodes of The Walking Dead's final season premiere Sundays on AMC and AMC+.
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