About a year and a half ago, it was announced that The Walking Dead would be coming to an end with its eleventh season, and then the show would be followed by a spin-off that would center on the characters Carol and Daryl, who have been played by Melissa McBride and Norman Reedus since season 1. In a shocking turn of events, McBride has now dropped out of the spin-off. Daryl is going solo… and he’s going to Europe.
TV Line has confirmed that McBride is no longer involved with the spin-off. From what they hear, “initial buzz suggested the decision to jettison Carol was a creative one, although an AMC rep maintains it was about logistics.”
An AMC spokesperson provided the following statement:
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 spin-off 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.”
Fans had suspected that a conversation Carol and Daryl had about taking a road trip from Virginia to New Mexico was the set-up for the spin-off, so it’s very surprising to hear that Daryl is going to Europe instead of going on a drive across America. If only he stayed in the states, he’d probably still be able to have Carol by his side.
In addition to the Carol and Daryl show, which is now just the Daryl show, AMC is continuing the Walking Dead franchise with an anthology series called Tales of the Walking Dead, a spin-off called Isle of the Dead that will center on Maggie (Lauren Cohan) and Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), and at least one more season of Fear the Walking Dead.
What do you think about Carol exiting the Carol and Daryl spin-off? Share your thoughts by leaving a comment below.