Comic-Con: What to Expect From The Walking Dead Universe Panel
San Diego Comic-Con is going to look a little dead this year. This week, the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) declared a strike over an impasse in negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Pictures and Television Producers (AMPTP). Under the labor union's strike rules, about 160,000 actors and performers are prohibited from doing principal on-camera work, such as acting, and principal off-camera work, such as promotion or publicity services for work covered by the TV/Theatrical/Streaming contracts that expired on June 30th. That includes but is not limited to interviews, conventions, and panels — which means your favorite stars are skipping San Diego Comic-Con 2023.
But the show — and the convention — must go on. AMC Networks is attending the annual confab to promote Walking Dead spin-offs The Walking Dead: Dead City (which airs its first season finale July 23rd), The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon (premiering September 10th), the final episodes of Fear the Walking Dead (returning this fall), and The Walking Dead: Rick & Michonne (slated to premiere in 2024).
AMC and AMC+ are hosting The Walking Dead Universe panel from the Hall H stage on Friday, July 21st, from 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM. According to the official panel description, AMC's Comic-Con panel will give fans "exclusive, first-look access to all things The Walking Dead Universe."
It's not yet known what AMC plans to show or who will be in attendance during the hour-long panel, but fans should expect to see new looks at Fear the Walking Dead's final season and the six-episode first season of Daryl Dixon. Also likely to premiere is the first footage from Rick & Michonne, which Lincoln and Gurira announced during a surprise appearance on stage at last year's Comic-Con.
Typically, showrunners would be on hand to tease what's to come on their respective shows. But with the Writers Guild of America going on strike in May, writers and showrunners Eli Jorné (Dead City), Andrew Chambliss and Ian Goldberg (Fear the Walking Dead), David Zabel (Daryl Dixon), and Scott M. Gimple (Rick & Michonne) are not permitted to promote struck projects. Like the actors, the writers are barred from specifically promoting any works under the expired TV/Theatrical/Streaming agreements. The showrunners are members of the WGA, including Gimple, who also serves as the chief content officer of AMC's Walking Dead Universe.
While Dead City, Fear, Daryl Dixon, and Rick & Michonne will have a presence at this year's convention, their casts will not. Your favorite cast members — including Andrew Lincoln, Danai Gurira, Norman Reedus, Lauren Cohan, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Kim Dickens, Colman Domingo, and many more — can't cross picket lines to talk up their spin-offs at AMC's panel encompassing its Walking Dead shows. It's a stark contrast to last year's star-studded joint panel that featured actors from Tales of the Walking Dead and The Walking Dead's final season, including Terry Crews, Samantha Morton, and Danny Ramirez, and TWD fan-favorites including Reedus, Melissa McBride, Lauren Ridloff, and Gurira and Lincoln.
Follow ComicBook for the latest San Diego Comic-Con 2023 news, and stay tuned to ComicBook/TWD and follow @CameronBonomolo and @NewsOfTheDead on Twitter for more TWD Universe coverage.