Alright, here we go again.
I mean that in the best way possible. I was one of the longest supporters of The Walking Dead among my fiends and family. While I did start watching the show a couple years after it premiered, I stuck around until the gritty, emotional end, watching characters I loved rise and fall to their deaths, see relationships I came to care for get torn apart by either the outside world or walkers.
And then, it was all over, after eleven seasons. I thought I was finally free of the zombie curse, but here we are, with several spinoffs set for The Walking Dead universe, featuring characters that we all care about.
Dead City concluded on July 23rd, 2023, and while I actually ended up enjoying it a lot more than I thought I would, there is one character from TWD that I was even more of a fan of for a long time, and that's Daryl Dixon.
Yes, I was one of those Daryl’s army girls, don’t blame me – as strange as that is to think about now. Even so, the Norman Reedus character is getting his own spinoff, The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon, releasing in September 2023. Suitably named, and I have plenty of theories and predictions as to what might go down. Let’s get into it.
Daryl Got A Hint Of Rick Somewhere Close To The Sea – And Got Caught By Some Bad Men
So, for those who don’t know yet, the main premise of The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon is that somehow, Daryl found himself literally across the world in France, of all places, not knowing how he got there. In the trailer for the series, we see Daryl admit to someone that he thinks multiple “bad choices” got him in this situation.
If you're curious about the upcoming The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon, check out our guide for it.
While that could be examined by itself, it still does raise the question of what, exactly, led Daryl to the sea, but in the trailer, we do see him jumping off what I can presume to be a dock. At the end of TWD, Daryl went out on his own to try and find Rick.
Rick, who had been the main protagonist from the original show played by Andrew Lincoln, was presumed dead, but both Daryl and Michonne have continuously gone out to try and find him since they never discovered a body. Obviously, we all know that Rick is still alive, as he is going to be a part of the upcoming Rick & Michonne spinoff.
So, I could believe that the reason Daryl ended up in the sea was because he got a hint of Rick possibly being somewhere close by, and ran into some bad people who just so happened to be near. Alexandria isn’t that far from a beach (about three hours by car to Ocean City), and since Daryl had his motorcycle, one can’t help but wonder if that’s the case.
That Boy In The Trailer Will Be Connected To The Cure
While plot details have been kept relatively under wraps, we have gotten hints as to what it entails through not only press releases but the trailer release, and in the trailer, we meet Laurent.
We don’t know who he really is. All we understand is that he is important to the group that supposedly takes Daryl in while he is in France, who are all dressed in religious clothing that looks like a nun’s habit. And that apparently, he is the key to humanity being revived.
Okay, alright, hear me out. This sounds almost a little bit like HBO’s The Last of Us, where Joel is tasked with taking Ellie across the United States because it's thought she might lead to a cure. Granted, this isn’t in the United States, but it sure feels like it might be going in that direction.
Not only that, but at the end of Season 1, Dr. Jenner told the group (before his suicide) that the last person he heard from in terms of working on a cure was in France – and Daryl is now there.
Dr. Jenner said they ran out of power, but it’s been more than a decade now. Surely someone has gotten power going somewhere in the country. Coincidence? I think not.
He’s Going To Run Into Some New Zombies
Something that I appreciate about The Walking Dead is that the show isn’t afraid to introduce new zombies, something that the comics also do. We’ve seen several different kinds in the show so far, such as zombies who play dead on the ground, called “lurkers” in the comics, or walkers that can somehow climb now.
In a new country, I could see new walkers popping up. The water might be different, the environment might change how they decompose – either way, I think bringing someone to a whole different country would offer a gateway to a plethora of opportunities when it comes to the evolution of walkers. It also makes me wonder what the French call them.
He Ends Up Staying In France
I think this might end up being a bit of a long-shot, but there’s a possibility that Daryl stays in France for some reason.
Don’t get me wrong, I believe wholeheartedly he will fight tooth and nail to somehow get back, but if the story is going to go how I think it will, he might end up finding relationships there that he didn’t expect to have. Maybe a guardian relationship with Laurent, or maybe a new love interest, who really knows.
Again, I fully believe that Daryl was still looking for Rick, and I don’t think he’s going to be showing up in the new Rick & Michonne spinoff, France might be it for a bit.
Carol Somehow Shows Up
To go along with that fact, if Daryl stays in France, it might lead to other people from the original series appearing, such as Carol.
The show was originally meant to be a Daryl and Carol spinoff, but Melissa McBride had to pull out due to logistical reasons. However, Daryl Dixon has already been renewed for Season 2, so something like this could very well occur if McBride had the availability.
With that said, Jeffrey Dean Morgan (Negan on both The Walking Dead and Dead City) hinted at something big – that Reedus and McBride are working together again, so that could be an even bigger clue that Carol could show up. He posted about it on his Twitter page, and said:
Well well. We’re sorry Norman… fer talking oodles of shit to you when we thought melissa wasn’t doing show! Golly… this must of been in the works for ages! (Twas from start) Goddamn it’s great seeing these two together! Can’t wait! Xojd
Reedus said during the 2022 New York Comic Con in October (via ComicBook) that familiar faces were going to show up, so Carol just might be there.
Or, we could have someone completely new appear, too. In The Walking Dead: Alien, a one-off story, we meet Jeffrey, who is later revealed to actually be Rick Grimes' brother in the comic universe, and he is set in Barcelona – which isn’t that far from France. That could potentially be a key for Daryl reuniting with Rick.
To be honest, I didn’t think I’d get so excited for another The Walking Dead spinoff. I thought I’d have zombie fatigue. But, the latest trailer for The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon has me theorizing for hours and I can’t wait to see what happens next.
