Melissa McBride joining “The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon” for season 2

The Daryl and Carol Walking Dead spinoff that then became just a Daryl spinoff is now becoming a Daryl and Carol spinoff again.

At a New York Comic Con panel for The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon (moderated by yours truly), it was announced by series star Norman Reedus that Melissa McBride would be joining season 2 of the AMC spinoff as a series regular. The news follows McBride making a vocal cameo as Carol on this past Sunday's episode on a radio call with Daryl, where she announced that someone had "come back" although radio interference blocked the identity of who had come back.

Jace Downs/AMC Melissa McBride and Norman Reedus in the series finale of 'The Walking Dead'

"We love the character and we want to keep her in the world of the show," showrunner David Zabel told EW after the scene aired. And now she will indeed be a big part of that world in season 2.

McBride weighed in on joining the series as part of a statement released by AMC: "I've known there was much more to be told of Carol's story as I felt her so unsettled when we last saw her, as she watched her best friend, Daryl, ride away. Apart or (hopefully!) together, their stories run deep, and I'm so excited to continue Carol's journey here. This team of storytellers have done amazing work to land these two established characters in an entirely new world to them, and I'm loving the discoveries!"

The Daryl and Carol reunion is the latest step in a long and winding road for the spinoff. The series originally set to star Reedus and McBride was first announced back in September 2020 along with news that the original Walking Dead would close up shop in 2022 after an expanded season 11. However, in April of 2022 it was revealed that the spinoff would be filming in Europe and that McBride had dropped out of the project because "relocating to Europe became logistically untenable for Melissa at this time," according to an AMC statement.

But all parties hinted to EW that even though McBride would not be starting on the Daryl Dixon spinoff, there was more to come with the pair. "I feel like Carol has more story to tell," McBride told EW in the summer of 2022. "I'll leave it at that. I think she's got some more story."

Reedus was even more direct. "Their journey's not over," he insisted to EW. "They will meet down the road. You can pretty much bet all your money. I read all these people whining about it, and I have to just keep my mouth shut, but there will be a lot of foots in a lot of mouths at some point."

In June of this year, Walking Dead costar Jeffrey Dean Morgan tweeted out a photo of the two on set, hailing their reunion.

Whether Daryl makes it back to Carol in America, or if the latter goes over to France searching for the former may be determined by the events the transpire on Sunday's season 1 finale, where it was confirmed that McBride will make an appearance. Either way, the dynamic duo is at least now sure to be reunited and once again fighting off enemies — both living and otherwise.

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