AMC President Thinks ‘The Walking Dead’ Could Run For 15 More Years: “There’s Are Many More Continents To Visit”
With six proper series, a four-episode mini, and yet another spin-off on the way, The Walking Dead has spent the last 15 years as one of the most consistent and popular franchises on television – and according to AMC Networks president Dan McDermott, there exists the significant possibility that it could continue shambling for 15 more.
The AMC top boss offered his admittedly optimistic take on The Walking Dead‘s overall future during the show’s 15th anniversary panel, as hosted during the currently-ongoing MIPCOM expo 2025 (Marché International des Programmes de Communication, or in English, the International Market of Communications Programmes) and featuring himself, franchise chief content officer Scott M. Gimple, and Daryl Dixon stars Norman Reedus, who plays the titular zombie-slayer, and Melissa McBridge, who portrays his main confidant Carole Peletier.
Per a recap provided by Variety‘s Cynthia Littleton, the first to address the topic was Gimble, who told curious attendees that the possibilities for more Walker-related storytelling were practically endless, particularly thanks to what he viewed as the series’ Marvel and DC-esque worldbuilding.
“It was all one story,” said the franchise steward, who previously wrote for the original series’ second season and served as the showrunner for Seasons 4-8 before being appointed to his current role in 2018. “It went in all sorts of different directions. Even with characters who have done so many things, we can put them in different worlds where they have different challenges and evolve them through these challenges.”
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From there jumping off of his colleague’s reflection, McDermott added, ““It’s quite possible we could see this group up here 15 years from now.”
“There are many more continents to visit,” he said, referring to how Daryl Dixon transplanted its eponymous protagonist from the American state of Georgia to various locales across France. “It’s about how [the characters] evolve over time. It’s really exciting to see how far we can take this.”
Ultimately, just where the next The Walking Dead entry will be set whether another country in Europe, another region of the United States, or a completely new location all together.
But regardless of wherever it does end up taking places, fans won’t get their chance to explore their new surroundings until well after the upcoming anthology series More Tales from the Walking Dead Universe, a sequel to the previous Tales of the Walking Dead, completes its six-episode run some time in 2026.
As to what fans can expect from this second season, when asked about his future plans for the anthology series following its 2022 finale, Gimple told AMC, “I’m hoping these are the first stories and characters we explore, and I really hope we do more.”
“I will say that for Tales of The Walking Dead, my plan was to have a lot more of the old characters on there,” he said. “I hope we get to do that eventually and I really, really do want to get into these other characters and other mythologies and other situations, so I’m hoping these are the first.”
Meanwhile, the Daryl Dixon spin-off’s aforementioned Season 3 finale is set to air on October 19th, with its fourth and final season set to premiere sometime next year.
