The Walking Dead’s Melissa McBride departs upcoming spinoff series
It appears that one of the fan-favorite characters in The Walking Dead is not joining the upcoming spinoff series next year.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Melissa McBride, who played Carol Peletier in AMC’s flagship zombie series, has departed the still untitled spinoff series originally planned to continue the story of her character and fellow Walking Dead actor Norman Reedus’ Daryl Dixon.
“Melissa McBride has given life to one of the most interesting, real, human and popular characters in The Walking Dead Universe,” AMC said in a statement. “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.”
McBride is one of the original cast members since the groundbreaking show’s maiden season premiered more than a decade ago on AMC.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, sources said that McBride “decided against filming abroad” after learning that the film location will be in Europe. AMC’s zombie series has filmed in Atlanta since the beginning.
“Sources say other opportunities for McBride and Carol are being discussed,” it said.
Strangely announced ahead of the original series’ planned finale this year, the upcoming spinoff is slated to launch in 2023, with current showrunner Angela Kang attached to oversee the new show.
Prior to her departure, McBride previously said that she’s thrilled with the new project, adding that she’s curious how Kang will expand the story arcs of the beloved characters.
“In playing Carol, and as a viewer of the show, I’ve also long been intrigued with ‘Daryl and Carol,’ and by what so early on between them, even then, felt somehow bound,” said McBride. "Their shared history is long, and each’s own personal fight to survive, even longer—the more obvious aspect of what has kept them close and loyal. But there is also a rather mysterious aspect to their fondness for one another that I enjoy, and their playfulness when the world permits."
Reedus, meanwhile, expressed his excitement to see what will happen with Daryl and Carol after the events of The Walking Dead.
“Daryl’s relationship with Carol has always been my favorite relationship on the show (sorry Rick),” Reedus said. “I love the way these characters interact and relate to each other on so many levels and can’t wait to see where their ride goes from here.”
Other details about the show are yet to be revealed by AMC including release date as well as possible changes to the show's storyline due to McBride's departure.
In addition to Reedus' upcoming show, AMC previously announced two other spinoff series based on the flagship zombie show.
One of these is Tales of the Walking Dead, which stars Olivia Munn (X-Men: Apocalypse, The Newsroom) Danny Ramirez (The Falcon & The Winter Soldier), Loan Chabanol, Embeth Davidtz, Jessie T. Usher, Loan Chabanol, Embeth Davidtz, Jessie T. Usher, Terry Crews, Parker Posey, Jillian Bell, Anthony Edwards and Poppy Liu.
The upcoming project is a six-episode original series featuring standalone stories focused on both new and established characters within the walker apocalypse.
Additionally, AMC has greenlit another spin-off series set in The Walking Dead universe, with Lauren Cohan and Jeffrey Dean Morgan reprising their roles as Maggie and Negan.
Called Isle of the Dead, the new spin-off will follow the two characters as they travel into a post-apocalyptic Manhattan “long ago cut off from the mainland.”
As for the flagship show, AMC earlier announced that its popular zombie series will end with an expanded 24-episode eleventh season this year.
The Walking Dead first premiered in 2010 and immediately garnered a cult following across the globe.