‘The Walking Dead’ Season 8: TWD Spinoff Possible For Norman Reedus’ Daryl Dixon Due To Comics Time Gap? [TV Spoilers]
The Walking Dead’s Season 8 release date is still ways down the road, never mind The Walking Dead Season 7, but using the comics as a guideline it is possible to create a road map for TWD Season 8. The difficult part is figuring out the pacing of the popular TV show in comparison to the graphic novels. Will The Walking Dead Season 8 premiere open with the events of issue 127 of the TWD comics, or will the story of Negan’s “All Out War” be stretched out over multiple seasons into The Walking Dead Season 9? Only Scott Gimple and Robert Kirkman probably know the plan, but one thing for certain is that TWD fans can expect to see a time gap in the upcoming episodes in either 2017 or 2018.
[Warning: The following article contains potential spoilers based upon The Walking Dead comics.]
The Walking Dead Timeline
By time The Walking Dead Season 8 premiere shows in 2017 the popular TV show will have been on the air for about seven years. During that time, audiences have seen civilization crumble and their favorite Walking Dead characters live or die. You might be surprised to hear that less than two years have passed based upon the chronology of The Walking Season 6 finale.
When Rick Grimes wakes in the first TWD episode, only 60 days have passed, which corresponds to the events of Fear The Walking Dead. The entirety of TWD Season 1 took place in less than a week, and even Season 2 is not that long, based upon the TWD plot’s time line. The Walking Dead Season 3 has a time jump that leaps forward to day 300 of the zombie outbreak, but by the end of TWD Season 6, almost double the days have passed.
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The Walking Dead Season 7 Is Catching Up With The Comics Slowly
Robert Kirkman is a busy guy with all the projects he is involved with. The Walking Dead Issue 156 is set to be published on July 6, 2016, but the TWD Season 6 finale roughly corresponds to issue 100. The comic issue was split up in order to give the TV show its infamous cliffhanger, but by issue 126, the next major story arc featuring Negan and The Saviors will be over.
There are two ways of handling the situation. Another The Walking Dead spinoff seems unlikely due to Fear The Walking Dead, so it’s possible the showrunners could fill that time gap with stories unique to the TV show. This would allow the TWD comics to finish publishing another story arc to be used as future source material.
The Walking Dead Season 8 Could Be Unique?
This is where Norman Reedus’ Daryl Dixon could come into play, assuming Negan was not using this TWD character for batting practice. Now Reedus has already said, “I know what happens, and it’s gut-wrenching.” But if the comics are any guide [Warning: Major The Walking Dead Spoilers], then Steven Yeun’s Glenn Rhee is fated to die[/End Warning]. Daryl’s death may be teased, but you’d assume AMC is leery of killing a fan favorite character.
Reedus’ character would also be perfect for creating a side story. Daryl Dixon was invented solely for the TV show, so it’s possible to have him and several other “zombie-proof” cast members go on a unique adventure that does not affect the major plot points of Issue 127. In order to pull this off, a road trip involving motorcycles would make perfect sense, and would allow the characters to distance themselves from the area surrounding Hilltop and The Kingdom.
Do you think The Walking Dead Season 8 or 9 should create a unique story line based upon the comics’ time gap? If so, what are your ideas?
[Image via AMC]
