The Walking Dead: World Beyond Co-Creator Says “There’s a Lot We’re Going to Learn” About Who Took Rick Grimes

The Walking Dead: World Beyond co-creator Scott Gimple says the incoming limited event series will answer burning questions about the Civic Republic Military, the mysterious helicopter group that flew Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) away from The Walking Dead. Before the missing Rick resurfaces alongside Anne (Pollyanna McIntosh) in a cinematic trilogy set in a new corner of the zombie apocalypse, the newest TV spinoff from the Walking Dead Universe will delve into the mythology behind CRM while unraveling its ties to one of the three major civilizations represented by the three-circle symbol spotted in both The Walking Dead and Fear the Walking Dead.

CRM is "a huge part of the show," Gimple said during World Beyond's virtual Comic-Con panel. "We find out a great deal about them. They are a very mysterious force, and their security, and the community they keep secure, are incredibly secretive."

World Beyond brings us to Omaha, Nebraska, home to nearly 10,000 survivors living within the CRM-connected walls of the Campus Colony. The former Nebraska State University is home to sisters Hope (Alexa Mansour) and Iris (Aliyah Royale), and it's where the teenaged apocalypse survivors interact with high-ranking CRM figure Elizabeth Kublek (Julia Ormond).

"We go into that community a little bit — we don't get a deep look at it, but we get some pretty tantalizing hints to it — and then we straight up meet people from the CRM. We see Elizabeth, we see other people," Gimple said. "And yeah, they're a constant presence in this story. They're a huge presence in this story, and it explains a lot towards what we've seen on the other shows and it invites new questions. There's a lot we're going to learn."

The Civic Republic Military is behind the cryptic classification system that labeled survivors as either an "A" or a "B" in The Walking Dead, and the Rick Grimes conspiracy deepened when a CRM soldier encountered on Fear the Walking Dead revealed the organization considers themselves "the future." Their mission: possibly developing a cure for the mysterious virus that reanimates corpses as flesh-hungry walkers, referred to as "empties" on World Beyond.

Walking Dead Universe newcomer Ormond hinted Elizabeth knows what happened to Rick, saying during the online panel, "If Elizabeth knows where Rick is, I'm not sure that she would tell you. And if Elizabeth tells you, I'm not sure that you should believe her."

The Walking Dead: World Beyond airs its series premiere Sunday, October 4, following the Season 10 finale of The Walking Dead. For all things TWD, follow the author @CameronBonomolo on Twitter.