The Walking Dead still working on possible series finale post-credits scene

Dalton Ross
·4 min read
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The Walking Dead still working on possible series finale post-credits scene
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While The Walking Dead finished shooting their last episode ever back in April, not all the pieces are necessarily locked into place for the Nov. 20 series finale. With the Oct. 2 AMC premiere for the last batch of episodes less than a month away, it seems as if one key component of the finale — the final scene — is still up in the air.

EW learned of the still work-in-progress status in the course of reporting our Walking Dead Fall TV Preview cover story. When we asked Scott M. Gimple if there would be a post-credits scene appearing at the end of the finale, AMC's Walking Dead chief content officer explained that was actually still to be determined. "Will there be a tag scene?" muses Gimple. "I just got to say, maybe. We're up to some things, so maybe."

The Walking Dead
The Walking Dead

Jace Downs/AMC Commonwealth soldiers on 'The Walking Dead'

Up to some things? What does that mean? "Honestly, we're literally just working right now on a couple of things," explains Gimple. "So there are a couple of ways it could go."

With so many Walking Dead spin-offs in the works, it certainly would make sense to use a post-credits scene to spin the story forward. In fact, that's exactly what the franchise did the last time they ended a series.

After the credits began rolling on the 2021 series finale of The Walking Dead: World Beyond, a mid-credits scene took viewers inside an abandoned French lab with graffiti reading "LES MORTS SONT NES ICI" (translation: The dead are born here) — the same lab Dr. Edwin Jenner (Noah Emmerich) referenced back in season 1 of The Walking Dead.

We then saw video journals to the French scientists from Jenner in the CDC lab he blew up at the end of season 1, where a clearly intrigued Jenner discussed research involving the use of cardiac plaques as a host medium to jump start the circulatory system, and expressed a desire to see more of the "variant cohorts." The French scientist watching these videos was then shot by a man proclaiming that it was all her fault.

The Walking Dead
The Walking Dead

Jace Downs/AMC Norman Reedus as Daryl Dixon on 'The Walking Dead'

Gimple has already confirmed that this scene is setting up the upcoming Daryl Dixon spin-off starring Norman Reedus, which will be set in France. It's a show AMC president Dan McDermott says 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?"

Might a possible TWD post-credits scene also tie into a future series? While it could set up another element of the new Daryl show, it also could very easily be our first look at the upcoming The Walking Dead: Dead City starring Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Lauren Cohan that, according to McDermott, follows "Negan and Maggie's journey onto the isle of Manhattan, where the bridges and tunnels were blown up at the onset of the pandemic, because the walker herd had just overrun the island and it's been left that way for 12 years. And so now it's a two million walker strong herd that is dominating the streets and making it treacherous and dangerous."

Dead City began filming in New Jersey back in July, so is fully equipped to shoot any sort of transition scene from the old series to the new. But perhaps the most intriguing option would be a post-credits sneak peek at the new Rick and Michonne spin-off announced by Andrew Lincoln and Danai Gurira at San Diego Comic-Con.

Danai Gurira and Andrew Lincoln at Comic-Con 2022
Danai Gurira and Andrew Lincoln at Comic-Con 2022

Todd Williamson/AMC/Shutterstock Danai Gurira and Andrew Lincoln at Comic-Con 2022

When we asked Angela Kang if the pair might be returning to make an appearance in the finale, the TWD showrunner did not bite. "I can't answer that question," replied Kang. "But I appreciate you asking." And when we asked Gimple, the chief content officer appeared incredulous at the very question. "I'd never tell you that in a million years."

Considering the Walking Dead story started with Rick Grimes, ending it with an appearance by the show's lead from the first eight-and-a-half seasons would seem to be a no-brainer. And saving that appearance for the true end of the show to help set up the next Rick-centric chapter almost makes too much sense not to do.

But all we know for now is that they are "up to some things" and "there are a couple ways it could go." We'll have to wait until the credits start rolling on Nov. 20 to find out where it ends up. Literally.

Make sure to check out EW's Fall TV Preview cover story — as well as all of our 2022 Fall TV Preview content, releasing over 22 days through Sept. 29.

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