Fan Favorite Quits Walking Dead Spin-off Project
AMC recently revealed that Melissa McBride will no longer be part of the previously announced Walking Dead spin-off series meant to feature her character, Carol Peletier, and Daryl Dixon (played by Norman Reeds). As the only characters still on the show since The Walking Dead’s first season, Daryl and Carol have become fan favorites with the audience and Melissa McBride’s departure will surely be a loss for everyone.
It was later revealed by AMC that the reason for McBride’s is due largely to the logistics:
“Melissa McBride has given life to one of the most interesting, real, human and popular characters in “The Walking Dead” Universe. Unfortunately, she is no longer able to participate in the previously announced spinoff focused on the Daryl Dixon and Carol Peletier characters, which will be set and filmed in Europe this summer and premiere next year. Relocating to Europe became logistically untenable for Melissa at this time. We know fans will be disappointed by this news, but “The Walking Dead” Universe continues to grow and expand in interesting ways and we very much hope to see Carol again in the near future.”
The explanation and show’s relocation seems to reveal a tie-in to the short-lived spin-off series The World Beyond, which ended with an after-credits scene set in France where scientists not only know who created the original virus but have also mutated it in an attempt to find a cure, thereby creating faster, stronger, walkers.
Apparently some fans, unhappy with the news, placed the blame for McBride’s departure on Reeds, believing that he had the show relocated because his girlfriend, Diane Kruger, is from Germany. The attacks were vicious enough that another Walking Dead cast member, Jeffrey Dean Morgan (who plays the divisive Negan), came to defend Reeds against “toxic” fans:
“Some of you have gone way too far,” Morgan shared on Twitter. “Attacking Norm for crap he has nothing to do with? Melissa made a call that was hers alone. She wants/needs a break. Respect that. Factors involved that are nobody’s business. Norm, who’s given more than anyone to you all. Just sh—y.”
How McBride’s departure will impact the direction of the spin-off series is unclear since so little information has been revealed about it, but it is clear that Daryl will remain at its center with the door left open for Carol’s potential return.
Photo: Norman Reedus and Melissa McBride as Carol Peletier and Daryl Dixon in The Walking Dead. Courtesy of AMC.
