Norman Reedus Says "Lost" Characters Could Return in The Walking Dead's Daryl Spinoff

Norman Reedus is a man on a mission. Riding solo after longtime co-star Melissa McBride dropped out of The Walking Dead's Daryl-Carol spinoff, Reedus returns as Daryl Dixon in the sequel series taking the lone zombie apocalypse survivor in a new direction: Europe. The untitled spinoff, which will take place and film overseas this summer with ER alum and showrunner David Zabel, could reunite Reedus with "lost" characters who went missing from the Walking Dead Universe. Speaking to Iron & Air for his debut novel, The Ravaged, Reedus teased why Daryl travels to Europe after The Walking Dead ends this fall on AMC: 

"I was going to do a spinoff, me and Melissa, we were going to do it together, but she wanted to take a break, and she deserves a break," Reedus said. "And in the meantime, they were like, 'Hey, do you want to go on a mission while she's taking some time?' I'm like, 'Yeah. Let's f-ing go on a mission.' So I'll be going to Europe doing a mission."

Reedus teased: "Some of our characters are lost, and maybe I'll run into one or two of them." 

On a Daryl-Carol reunion down the road, Reedus said the best friends will "definitely come back together." (After 12 years of filming The Walking Dead in Georgia, relocating to Europe "became logistically untenable" for McBride at this time, AMC said in a statement.) 

While it remains to be seen when or where Reedus and McBride reunite after the final eight episodes of The Walking Dead, Daryl's mission could mean getting a lead on Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) and Michonne (Danai Gurira). Also unaccounted for is the long-missing Heath (Corey Hawkins), not seen since he disappeared outside of Oceanside in Season 7. 

Rick, who last appeared in a Season 9 episode of The Walking Dead in 2018, is believed to have died in a bridge explosion witnessed by Daryl and Michonne. After viewers saw Jadis (Pollyanna McIntosh) secretly rescue Rick — whisking him away aboard a helicopter medevac — The Walking Dead: World Beyond confirmed Jadis traded Rick to the CRM for entry into the Civic Republic, a classified civilization in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (In-universe, more than six years have passed since Jadis trafficked Rick and Heath to the Civic Republic Military, leaving their exact whereabouts unknown.) 

Meanwhile, Michonne entrusted her children, Rick Jr. (Antony Azor) and Judith Grimes (Cailey Fleming), in the care of their Uncle Daryl to embark on her own mission: find Rick and bring him home. Gurira exited the series in Season 10, with Michonne headed north after discovering proof Rick survived the bridge explosion. 

"I definitely think, if that's on the cards, that should without a doubt happen," Reedus previously told IGN about a Daryl and Rick reunion in the planned Walking Dead Movie announced in 2018. "It's such a family group, and it would be hard not to have that family be part of the story dynamic, you know what I mean?"

Reedus' Daryl spinoff premieres in 2023 on AMC. Follow @CameronBonomolo on Twitter & @NewsOfTheDead for TWD Universe coverage all season long.

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