Tyreese May Be The Walking Dead’s Debut Anthology Tale

Is The Walking Dead Universe telling one last tale about Tyreese Williams? Chad Coleman, who played the hammer-swinging zombie apocalypse survivor in Seasons 3-5 of The Walking Dead, may be the first series star to return for AMC’s episodic anthology spinoff Tales of the Walking Dead. The first season is now in production in Georgia and will consist of six standalone episodes focused on new and established characters set in the world of The Walking Dead, including those who have already died on the flagship and its spinoffs. 

Coleman sparked speculation of his Walking Dead return after he “ran into” franchise director Michael E. Satrazemis, behind the camera on the first episode of Tales now filming in Georgia. Satrazemis made his Walking Dead directorial debut on the Season 4 episode “The Grove,” the acclaimed bottle episode focused on Tyreese and Carol (Melissa McBride). 

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A post shared by Chad Coleman (@chadlcoleman)

“Will we be able to see a Tyreese story soon in Tales of The Walking Dead?” one Instagram user asked in response to the photo. Wrote another, “‘Ran into?’ Meaning Tyreese and Sasha have a Tales episode?” 

Coleman’s recent Instagram activity shows the actor in and around Atlanta, not far from the Tales of the Walking Dead set in Buford, Georgia. He previously shared an image of the Tales teaser poster to his Instagram story after AMC ordered the spinoff to series. 

AMC Networks has not yet revealed who will return in Tales, but series developer and executive producer Scott Gimple has confirmed the anthology will tell new tales about past characters on The Walking Dead. 

“I will say, we’re working on things where we are looking at past characters,” Gimple, chief content officer of AMC’s Walking Dead Universe, said during virtual San Diego Comic-Con in 2020. “Maybe not a whole series, but we’re looking at things where we can take a peek at — maybe not pre-apocalypse — but early in the apocalypse. We’re looking at folks, so get excited for that.”

Season 3 episode “Made to Suffer” introduces Tyreese and his sister, Sasha Williams (Sonequa Martin-Green), as part of a small group that happens across the prison taken by Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) and his band of survivors.

In “The Suicide King,” Tyreese reveals how he and Sasha spent the early months of the apocalypse: holed up in the bunker of their “survivalist nut” neighbor, staying there until they ran out of supplies. Ty and Sasha then encountered Allen (Daniel Thomas May) and Ben (Tyler Chase) when they emerged from underground around Jacksonville, Florida. 

Coleman last appeared in The Walking Dead Season 5 episode “What Happened and What’s Going On,” written by Gimple, where Tyreese dies from blood loss after suffering a walker’s bite. Co-star Martin-Green previously told Entertainment Weekly she’d “love to” return as Sasha in Tales, saying of the spinoff, “It would be interesting. I was always interested in backstory.” 

Tales of the Walking Dead is now in production and premieres this summer on AMC and AMC+.

Follow the author @CameronBonomolo on Twitter and @NewsOfTheDead for The Walking Dead Universe coverage all season long.