THE WALKING DEAD: DARYL DIXON Showrunner on the future of the franchise, which could reunite old friends

Season 2 of The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon concluded last weekend and gave fans a future with Daryl and Carol to look forward to as they travel down a new road.

It was amazing to see them come together and we’re not done with them yet. After a tense ending, they’re trying to head to another European city, although knowing where they’ll film season three makes it seem like they’re taking a detour.

So what lies ahead for the couple? Showrunner and executive producer David Zabel spoke about the end of the season, as well as the show’s future, telling The Hollywood Reporter:

“We appreciated the invigoration we experienced going to France and wanted to continue doing so. Story-wise, the characters shouldn’t calm down. It should be a road show.

“They have to keep moving [to return home]. At the end of season two, they’re going somewhere. We don’t know Exactly where, and it’s not a direct line to where they’re going next. But the idea is to keep the characters struggling and struggling to get home and move.”

He continued: “On another level, we can bring a whole other culture, history, flavor, color, light and architecture. It will be really exciting to reinvent the show.

“It seemed like all signs were that we kept moving and got to the next place. In seasons five and six, it might be a different place. They will keep moving until they get home!”

Another country beyond Spain? What’s next for Daryl and Carol’s survival tour, a trip to Italy? Zabel said:

«I can’t tell you, but I Do have a plan. I talked to Norman about it. There is a very interesting plan. But we don’t even know if we’re already making the fourth season…”

Additionally, future plans involving Daryl and Carol may come down to a wild card factor Daryl Dixon the hands of the team, the whims of the eldest The walking dead franchising. Zabel explained:

“I had enough free rein. I talk to [franchise chief creative officer Scott M. Gimple] all the time and he said, “You have carte blanche, at least for now.” Keep doing what you’re doing.”

“But at some point, I guess some things might be determined by what the other characters do and where they are. So, I don’t know if Negan is [Jeffrey Dean Morgan] I’ll get on a raft on the Hudson and finish [in Europe].”

It could mean we might even see Rick (Andrea Lincoln) return to reunite with Daryl?? That would be epic!

Whatever the future holds, as long as The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon continues, it will depend on the progress of Daryl and Carol’s relationship. Zabel says:

“There’s so much they haven’t seen and experienced. They’re both characters who are [landlocked Americans]and in that way, they’re kind of these classic Americans who never got to travel the world.

“They both had reasons to stay close to home. That was part of what I thought was exciting from the beginning: taking those characters and exposing them to these things that maybe they saw in a book once, or maybe they saw a picture, and now they’re in the middle of it.

He continues: “From the audience’s perspective, it’s an opportunity to see what the apocalypse looks like in these other parts of the world, and then hopefully the audience can experience the same thing as these characters.

“It’s like, ‘Wow, I’ve only seen the Eiffel Tower in photos, and now I’m standing next to it… and also, there are walkers standing next to it, too.’”

It was really nice to see the series live in a new country with these characters that we’ve known and loved since the beginning. You can catch up on the first two seasons of The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon on AMC+.