As the years roll on, The Walking Dead franchise has continued to endure. AMC's beloved zombie series may have concluded in 2022, but the long-running franchise has found a way to be even more long-running with various spinoffs and sequels carrying on the story that once began with Rick Grimes in that hospital. We've come a long way since then and the popularity of the original show and its initial spinoffs have allowed for it to live on in these new formats.
The Walking Dead: Dead City has kicked off this new chapter in New York City while Daryl Dixon took the story outside of the US to France. Those are both ongoing shows that allowed the TWD Universe to focus on specific characters and continue on their long-running stories. Meanwhile, miniseries The Ones Who Live carried on the long-running arc that has hung unfinished over the original show for its final few seasons, showing us all what Rick and Michonne had been up to since actors Andrew Lincoln and Danai Gurira left the series in seasons 9 and 10 respectively.
The future of the TWD Universe is full of questions as fans ponder over which characters might return and how AMC might tie all of these stories together. However, now fans are convinced that the saga might be about to bring back two beloved characters based on some recent artwork.
The Walking Dead's SDCC promos potentially tease Rick and Michonne's returns
Ahead of San Diego Comic-Con, promotion for the TWD Universe's presence at the summer event has already been rolled out. The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon season 3 will host a panel there in Hall H, so it's no surprise to learn that the show has the primary focus of the promotional key art of the building wraps that have gone up around the convention center. That key art is featured on multiple buildings and it features Norman Reedus' Daryl Dixon and Melissa McBride's Carol Peletier fighting the undead as AMC looks to promote the show's return this fall.
Similarly, posters of The Walking Dead: Dead City season 2 (which just wrapped its run) can be seen on some of the convention center buildings too, as the network looks to promote the show's recent season 3 renewal. With so many TWD fans in one place for the Daryl Dixon panel, it makes sense to remind them that its fellow spinoff has more adventures on the horizon as well. However, there is one piece of artwork that has fans convinced that two beloved characters will be back.
In the midst of its fellow TWD posters is artwork for The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live (which can be viewed here), featuring its two stars Rick Grimes and Michonne front and center. While there is an argument to be made for The Walking Dead franchise continuing to spotlight two of its most recognizable faces, the use of The Ones Who Live artwork does have fans wondering if some kind of major announcement could be coming.
The series was billed as one of the three new TWD spinoffs to carry the story on after the original show concluded, but the moment that its season 1 run finished, it was very clear that it was designed to be a one-season show. Chief content officer of The Walking Dead franchise Scott M. Gimple revealed that there were no plans for a second season at the time but that he had ideas for where the story - and these characters - could go next within the wider franchise. With that in mind, we could very well see Andrew Lincoln and Danai Gurira back as Rick and Michonne at some point in the future, but it would likely be in a different spinoff.
So, could a major announcement about the characters' returns take place at San Diego Comic-Con? Well, it's possible; remember, SDCC is where The Ones Who Live was first announced. But the question is: Could it be to do with a second season of that show or another project entirely?
Dead City lead and longtime TWD star Lauren Cohan recently talked about the franchise's ultimate plans to wrap up the TWD story, along with her hopes for a "super group" reunion. Perhaps this could be on the horizon and it could begin with Rick and Michonne's return to screens. Here's hoping that AMC makes it happen!
