The Walking Dead: World Beyond spoilers follow, but they're extremely minor.
When Rick Grimes first emerged from his coma in 2010, who could have predicted that The Walking Dead would be quite this successful? Like a ravenous horde, AMC's show took over the TV landscape with infectious speed, and ten years on, we're still living with their post-apocalyptic life.
Although The Walking Dead is soon coming to an end, the franchise itself won't die. Even if humanity disappears and cockroaches rule the Earth, AMC will likely still launch spin-offs like Fear The Walking Dead and Daryl's new venture will continue to air, giving fans their weekly dose of all-things walker.
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With each new addition, The Walking Dead universe grows ever more vast and complex, building a huge, realised world that no other TV franchise can currently match. But while the other spin-offs tend to prioritise similar perspectives each time, The Walking Dead: World Beyond aims to tell a very different kind of story set within the same universe.
"The show needs to feel different," executive producer Matt Negrete told us. "And I think being able to view the apocalypse through that younger lens has really made a difference."
World Beyond kicks off with a refreshingly diverse cast of teenagers who grew up somewhat accustomed to this 'new normal' from the safety of their gated community. As actress Alexa Mansour puts it, "They know what's outside the wall – they're just very sheltered from it. They're not very prepared because they've pretty much been on a college campus they can't escape."
When 'The Endlings' decide to go out "and just see the world for what it is," not much time passes before the true horrors of this new reality make themselves known. In that sense, World Beyond is instantly connected to its sibling shows just by virtue of existing in the same apocalypse.
The difference here is that ten years have passed since the initial outbreak, which means that the walkers – or "Empties" as they're known here – have evolved somewhat.
Aside from a gruesome beehive zombie that pops up in episode two, Negrete tells us that some Empties have even been fused together at one point, creating a gorgon-like creature with two heads and four arms. "We're always looking for ways to mix things up," says Matt. "We always have fun trying to think outside the box."
This kind of approach helps the World Beyond team create something fresh and new while still thinking of the bigger picture, threading concrete connections between each Walking Dead show. While she was unable to reveal specifics, Mansour did suggest this could manifest itself in the form of Easter eggs which pop up as the show progresses.
"There are little hints where you're like, 'Wait a second, that was in the other show' or 'Wait, that looks really familiar.' Everything means something in the show. Everything was put there for a reason."
Mansour promises "you're going to get a lot of questions answered," but further down the line, plenty more will take their place. And as long-time fans might expect, most of those questions tie into the biggest mystery of all: Where the hell is Rick Grimes?
When we last saw The Walking Dead's version of Wally (or Waldo, depending on where you're from), he was taken away by a mysterious organisation called the CRM. We've known for some time now that this group would come to the fore in World Beyond, and actor Nico Tortorella confirmed that to us before the show's launch.
"It's been hinted at for years on The Walking Dead and Fear The Walking Dead. We get to put a face to that community in the first episode. They play a huge part in the series, and a lot more will begin to make sense very quickly."
Negrete expanded on this further, explaining that the CRM will "loom large over the entire season, and, in fact, the entire series." Questions surrounding their origin, their true intent, and even their location will become more apparent as the show goes on.
So does this mean that Rick Grimes will visit World Beyond before starring in his own solo ventures? Negrete refuses to reveal that just yet, and understandably so. But he did tell us that "you will get answers as to potentially where Rick was taken. And I think that we'll also get answers in terms of why he was taken there."
However, Matt was quick to point out that World Beyond will also develop wider connections to this universe beyond Rick Grimes: "It's really about exploring this world that's going to open up. It will fit in, in a very important way, with some mythology that was set up in the initial episode of The Walking Dead."
To date, each Walking Dead show has mostly been concerned with specific areas in America, but Tortorella is excited to see how World Beyond expands this scope on a national level. "I think that right off the bat, we really start to see the big picture of what is unfolding in the Americas, and who's in charge and what it means."
These issues surrounding authoritarianism and military might actually connect World Beyond to the real world too. As Nico points out, "art imitates life, and the line between good and evil, specifically when discussing people in charge is very, very real right now in the United States and globally. This show definitely reflects that."
World Beyond might be a coming-of-age story at heart, but the wholesome feel of early episodes will soon be stripped away as the "Endlings" gradually lose their innocence. "Our goal has always been to appeal to the fans while expanding some mythology that was originally established on The Walking Dead," says Negrete. "If anyone thinks the show feels a little light, it's not going to stay that way."
Will this expansion of the wider mythology involve a direct crossover at some stage? Negrete can't say, of course, but he did mention that Tales of the Walking Dead could potentially bring back some World Beyond characters after the show ends its two season run. "I wouldn't rule out the possibility that maybe we'll see a character or two pop up in that anthology series."
But what about the show that started it all? There's still time for World Beyond and The Walking Dead to crossover somehow before both shows come to an end. And if she has anything to do with it, Alexa Mansour will be the one who leads the charge.
As soon as she heard about the Daryl/Carol spin-off, Alexa called her manager and said, "Get me on it. Hope has to be on it." Whether Hope and Daryl end up meeting or not, their characters and the shows at large will still be connected forever by 'The Day The Sky Fell'.
And even when the Endlings are no more, it seems almost certain that The Walking Dead universe will continue to shuffle forward, seemingly without end.
"I feel like the number of stories you could tell, and the types of stories, and the amount of characters you could explore – it just feels endless to me," says Negrete. "Even if we all know the rules of the apocalypse and how things work, there's so much to explore, and I think there's still so much great stuff to come from it."
The Walking Dead: World Beyond will premiere on Sunday, October 4 on AMC in the US. UK viewers can catch up weekly with new episodes every Friday on Amazon Prime Video.
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After teaching in England and South Korea, David turned to writing in Germany, where he covered everything from superhero movies to the Berlin Film Festival.
In 2019, David moved to London to join Digital Spy, where he could indulge his love of comics, horror and LGBTQ+ storytelling as Deputy TV Editor, and later, as Acting TV Editor.
David has spoken on numerous LGBTQ+ panels to discuss queer representation and in 2020, he created the Rainbow Crew interview series, which celebrates LGBTQ+ talent on both sides of the camera via video content and longform reads.
Beyond that, David has interviewed all your faves, including Henry Cavill, Pedro Pascal, Olivia Colman, Patrick Stewart, Ncuti Gatwa, Jamie Dornan, Regina King, and more — not to mention countless Drag Race legends.
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