Thursday 28 April 2022

Changes for the WALKING DEAD and DUNE TV series

The Walking Dead is gearing up to end its run, but there are changes afoot for its spin-off shows.

As noted previously, AMC is planning a number of new spin-off shows from The Walking Dead, beyond the existing Fear the Walking Dead and The Walking Dead: World Beyond. The first of the new spin-offs was planned to focus on the characters of Carol (Melissa McBride) and Daryl (Norman Reedus) after the events of the series. This is significant as McBride and Reedus are the only Season 1 regulars still on the show in its final season, and arguably are the two most popular characters and actors on the series.

However, Melissa McBride has now withdrawn from the project due to scheduling issues. Unlike the existing shows, which film principally in Georgia in the United States, the new show will shoot in Europe for cost-saving reasons. McBride is unable to relocate to Europe for the required filming dates. As a result, the new show is being rejigged to focus on Daryl only.

Anthology series Tales of the Walking Dead is currently shooting and a further spin-off, Isles of the Dead, which will see Maggie (Lauren Cohan) and Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) relocating to a ruined New York City, is in pre-production.

Meanwhile, HBO Max is continuing to develop Dune: The Sisterhood, a Bene Gesserit-focused spin-off from the movies directed by Denis Villeneuve. The series was due to have Villeneuve direct its first two episodes, but the proposed filming dates clash, ironically, with those for the film Dune: Part Two. Chernobyl and Breaking Bad director Johan Renck has been picked to replace him.

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