Norman Reedus Calls His 'The Walking Dead' Spin-Off 'Epic'

Actor Norman Reedus is excited for fans to get another look at his character, Daryl Dixon, in his very own "The Walking Dead" spin-off.

As Entertainment Weekly reported, AMC president Dan McDermott teased that the spin-off will "follow Daryl as he wakes up and finds himself somewhere on the European continent and tries to piece together what happened. How did he get here? How's he going to get home?"

However, Reedus said, although that wasn't the original plan for the series, it's going to be "f---ing epic."

In an interview with EW, Reedus revealed that the talks about the spin-offs have been going on for over two years. "It was a good year before they announced that The Walking Dead was going to end," he revealed." And over the course of time, it kind of changed directions multiple times."

At the time it was first announced in September 2020, fans were excited to see a spin-off series starring both Daryl and Carol, played by Melissa McBride. However, once the series was announced to be filming overseas, McBride dropped out of the project.

Although fans are disappointed that Carol won't be returning, Reedus teased that the new series is going to go in the "opposite direction" of what most fans of the long-running zombie series will be expecting.

Fans have watched Norman Reedus' character of Daryl walk around and kill zombies for over a decade now, which is why producers decided to change things up for the latest spin-off series set in "The Walking Dead" universe.

"We knew we wanted to make a show that went in the opposite direction, just because we didn't want to do the same thing. So that's what we're doing," Reedus told EW. "And it's going to be way different. The story's way different. The characters are way different. There's a different tone, there's different light, there's a different sound. It's a whole different vibe."

Although the new spin-off series will be taking place in France, Reedus says that the new location will definitely be more interesting, but it's not the only thing that will set it apart from its predecessor.

"I've been going on location scouts here and stuff, but it's even more than just location," he said. "It's all the things we love about those characters and those shows, but It's going to be brand new, which I'm excited about."

Back in May, the 53-year-old actor opened up about his spin-off series on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.”

Although a previous statement from AMC said that Melissa had backed out of the show because she was unable to film in Europe, Reedus said that Melissa decided to take some time off from acting after appearing on the flagship show since its first season.

“I know it's going to be much different than the show, you know it was originally Carol and I - Melissa McBride and I - and she's taking time off,” Reedus explained. “You know, twelve years is a grueling schedule, and she wanted to take some time off so she's doing that and she deserves it.”

“I imagine those characters are going to meet back up at some point and I might even meet up with some other characters down the road,” he added. “She's taking time off and in the meantime, they're like 'Hey, do you want to go on a mission?  And I'm like 'Yeah!'”

Shortly after McBride announced that she was backing out of the series, online speculation started to spread that Reedus was the reason she was no longer a part of the new series. After considerable online backlash, the official AMC account released a statement explaining that Reedus had no part in McBride's decision to leave the spin-off show.

AMC released a statement regarding the backlash, saying, "We would like to acknowledge the response to this week’s news related to the previously announced Daryl and Carol TWD spinoff. Norman Reedus is being unfairly targeted and attacked in social media for a decision he had no part in."

They continued, "Melissa McBride decided she could not participate in the series because relocating to Europe became logistically untenable for her. It is inappropriate to direct negativity and anger at another cast member for a disappointing outcome he had nothing to do with."

They concluded, "Carol is a beloved & vital character and we are working to find a way for fans to again follow her story, as only Melissa could give life to, in the expanding universe around The Walking Dead. The fans have always been the driving force behind #TWDFamily and always will be."

The spin-off series is still expected to be released sometime in 2023.