The Walking Dead is the story universe that keeps on ticking. Premiering to AMC on October 31, 2010, the six-episode first season brought the zombie horror genre to television. Inspired by the long-running comic book series by Robert Kirkman, the show brought audiences into the post-apocalyptic world of Sheriff Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln), Michonne (Danai Gurira), Daryl Dixon (Norman Reedus), Glenn (Steven Yeun), Maggie (Lauren Cohan) and the rest of this formidable evolving crew of survivors as they strived to keep humanity and civilization alive amid a terrifying undead reality.Â
Five spinoffs have aired since the original series’ premiere. Fear The Walking Dead, The Walking Dead: World Beyond, Tales of the Walking Dead and The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon all added to the story canon in their own ways and have ultimately paved the way for the latest — and perhaps, most anticipated — spinoff series to date: The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live.Â
The relationship between Rick Grimes and Michonne helped lay the emotional foundation for The Walking Dead. In a world immersed in death, their love story regularly brought a much-needed human element to the series and kept the story stakes steadily high. When Lincoln exited the series in season 9 (which aired in 2018), followed by Gurira the following year, it was clear the series run may be nearing its logical conclusion.Â
In 2018, a 10-year programming plan was announced to keep the Walking Dead universe growing on TV and in movie theaters. Scott Gimple, who was bumped up from showrunner to chief content offer, soon announced a Rick Grimes trilogy of movies to keep that story going. Three movies soon became one, with plans for a big theatrical release.Â
By 2020, those plans changed yet again.Â
After the COVID-19 pandemic and the industry-wide production shutdown, the big screen movie project evolved. What was once pictured as three movies centering on Rick turned into a limited six-episode series following Rick and…
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