When it was first announced that Daryl Dixon would get his own Walking Dead spin-off, fans were excited about the continuation of the long-running franchise now that the flagship series has concluded. Then, it was announced that the series would take place in Europe, and suddenly things became a lot more interesting. How will he get there? Is he just going to ride his motorcycle across the Atlantic? Is Dog okay?!
While we won’t know for certain until the show begins airing next year, Norman Reedus says his series will have a completely different tone. “It’s a reset,” Reedus told Entertainment Weekly of the series, which will be titled The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon. “You learn a lot of things after 12 years of doing a show, and there are certain paths that you inevitably have to go down because [there is such a big cast]. We don’t really have that over there. It’s kind of a fresh start for us, with all the things that we loved doing, and just a whole bunch more.”
With a fresh start comes a whole new continent, as the new series takes place in France with a new set of unfamiliar characters and an overall new vibe. Reedus added, “The story’s way different. The characters are way different. There’s a different tone, there’s a different light, there’s a different sound. It’s a whole different vibe.” Part of that “different vibe” is driven by the fact that Dixon cannot speak French, so there will be some communication barriers.
Reedus is still hopeful that the series will apply to long-time Walking Dead fans. “It’s f***ing great! Everybody that’s involved in it is really, really excited about what we’re doing. It’s so epic in scale, and the tone is so good and different, and moody.” Maybe French zombies are nicer than American ones!