Jeffrey Dean Morgan: Maggie and Negan Spinoff Will “Reinvent” The Walking Dead World

The Walking Dead spinoff Isle of the Dead will “reinvent the TWD world as we know it,” teases star Jeffrey Dean Morgan. In Isle of the Dead, Morgan’s Negan and Lauren Cohan’s Maggie Rhee travel together into a post-apocalyptic Manhattan — an “unseen and insane world of the TWD Universe,” according to executive producer Scott Gimple. Stars Morgan and Cohan are executive producers on the spinoff created by showrunner Eli Jorné for AMC Studios, who officially gave the franchise expansion the green light for a 2023 premiere on AMC and AMC+. 

“[Lauren Cohan] and I are pretty damn excited. The story is GREAT,” Morgan tweeted. “It’s going to reinvent the TWD world as we know it…. Really can’t wait for you all to live on #IsleOfTheDead with us.” 

Gimple co-created limited event series The Walking Dead: World Beyond explored locations in New York State, but NYC-set Isle of the Dead is the first time the franchise ventures into zombie-swamped Manhattan. 

Enemies Maggie and Negan form a fragile truce in the eleventh and final season of The Walking Dead, working together to save a starving Alexandria. After their trip to Meridian ended with Negan going his own way to spare himself the vengeful widow’s wrath, Isle of the Dead will “take these characters to their limits with the world — and each other,” said Gimple, promising an “all-new, all-different TWD epic for the ages.”

“I’m delighted that Negan and Maggie’s journey continues. It’s been such a ride walking in Negan’s shoes, I’m beyond excited to continue his journey in New York City with Lauren,” Morgan said in a statement announcing Isle of the Dead. “Walkers in an urban setting has always been such a cool image, but 5th Avenue, Empire State Building, Statue of Liberty? The greatest city in the world?? The backdrop is amazing, but it’s the story that Eli Jorné cooked up that is even better.” 

In Isle of the Dead, Maggie and Negan travel into a post-apocalyptic Manhattan long ago cut off from the mainland. The crumbling city is filled with the dead and denizens who have made New York City their own world full of anarchy, danger, beauty, and terror. The spinoff is set to premiere in 2023.

Morgan and Cohan continue to appear in The Walking Dead‘s three-part final season, which premieres new episodes Sundays on AMC and AMC+. The series finale airs later in 2022.

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