AMC’s The Walking Dead came to an end in late 2022 after 11 seasons, although Robert Kirkman’s comics ended three years prior and in an abrupt way. This allowed the show to move beyond the source material out of necessity, but to be fair, there were already plenty of differences between the two. People didn’t seem to get too precious about those difference either, and thank goodness because Daryl Dixon must never die on the shows. Carol’s platonic soulmate, of course, didn’t appear in the comics and was actually created as a fit for Norman Reedus, although one wonders why TV Daryl and his weapon of choice never popped over into the comics.
Initial showrunner Frank Darabont actually concocted Daryl after Reedus went for the role of Daryl’s older brother, Merle. Michael Rooker nabbed that role while (via Comic Book and according to Kirkman’s own words in The Walking Dead Deluxe #67) casting directors wanted to cast Norman but found that he “wasn’t a perfect fit” to play the horribly racist, entirely abrasive Merle. And so, Daryl and his bike were born. However, Kirkman felt that it would have been a disservice to the show’s writers if he ported Daryl into the comics:
“I would never have done it because it would feel wrong to bring the work of so many other people into the comic,” Kirkman explained. “I never wanted the show to change the comic, since the comic is what made the show possible, and I worried it could turn into a snake eating its own tail.”
Kirkman further stressed that Daryl and Merle were “very much a team effort involving other season one writers Jack LoGiudice and Charles H. Eglee,” and of course, Darabont had originated them. So even though Daryl never got his day in the comics, that’s fine. He lived throughout the entire eleven seasons of the show and wayyyy longer than Merle and the majority of the show’s characters, for that matter. Even better, Daryl is getting his own dang solo spinoff. Not even Rick Grimes is doing a solo act, so there.
The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon premieres on September 10.
(Via Comic Book)