Pop-Culturalist.com

Fan-favorite The Walking Dead is back at San Diego Comic Con with the highly-anticipated follow-up to The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon, The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon – The Book of Carol.

In town to talk about the show were Showrunner and Executive producer David Zabel, Executive Producer Greg Nicotero, Norman Reedus (Daryl Dixon and also an Executive Producer), Melissa McBride (Carol Peletier and also an Executive Producer), and Louis Puech Scigliuzzi (Laurent Carriere). Acknowledging how good it is to come back to SDCC for the past 14 years, Zabel says, “We’ve been fortunate enough to be a part of something that’s changed television history, and that’s the legacy that we’re grateful for…We still have the opportunity to tell great stories and to, you know, seduce our fans into falling in love with these great actors.”

The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon – The Book of Carol continues Daryl and Carol’s story in France although it was announced that the third season will be set in Spain. As David Zabel said, “There’s a lot of great post-apocalyptic stories [within] all these different cultures. And I think that’s the goal for the show.” So it was important to continue Daryl and Carol’s story from France to Spain: “We thought it would be really cool if they even those the across right across the border from France, it’s a totally different vibe and totally different cultural history and all these other kinds of things that we can infuse the story with. So it seemed like a great way to sort of say, okay, we’re moving, we’re moving ahead, and we’re also allowed to sort of reinvent the show even in the third season.”

And Norman Reedus agrees that the European setting of The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon – The Book of Carol keeps everything moving forward and evolving. He says, “You know, the the stories are different. The relationships are different; the settings are different. Everything is different…And you’ll see us have different variations of emotion and different takes.” He continues, “What I said in Hall H, you’re on a TV show that was such a massive hit and it sort of moves itself. You get swept up in the monster, [but] we reinvented the show. Half of it’s in French. It’s completely different now. The show itself feels like it feels to be making art again. I say it all the time, I miss independent film. Three’s an independent feel to what we’re doing.” Melissa McBride agrees saying, “Daryl, for instance, goes someplace I’ve never seen him go before as far as acting or the character. It’s very special.” Zabel expands on this new focused storytelling by saying that “The show allows us to really focus in season one on Daryl and season 2 on Daryl and Carol in a way the Mothership didn’t because the Mothership is a big ensemble. So [Reedus and McBride] have to carry the story entirely through those two characters. And that, I think, allows Norman and Melissa room to do more things….that allows the characters to sort of blossom in certain ways that are different.”

So buckle in, Walking Dead fans. You’re in for a treat!

The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon – The Book of Carol will premiere on September 29, 2024.