Lauren Cohan (Maggie) and Jeffrey Dean Morgan (Negan) are staying in “The Walking Dead” universe with yet another spinoff called “Isle of the Dead” once the original show ends its 11th season.
The two characters will end up in a post-apocalyptic Manhattan.
This would be the fifth spinoff from the original announced by AMC and is set to air in 2023. The network has not announced where this spinoff will be shot.
“This is a very big day for the expanding universe we are building around ‘The Walking Dead’,” said Dan McDermott, president of entertainment and AMC Studios for AMC Networks in a press release. “It not only adds another compelling series to this collection, it extends our storytelling around two unforgettable characters fans have grown to love, hate or hate and then love in Maggie and Negan, brilliantly inhabited by Lauren and Jeffrey. It also lets us explore a corner of this universe located on the island of Manhattan, with an iconic skyline that takes on a very different meaning when viewed through the lens of a zombie apocalypse.”
Currently, the anthology series “Tales of The Walking Dead” is shooting in Georgia while the final episodes of the original series are wrapping up in Senoia.
Maggie and Negan have a long history going back to season 7, when Negan killed Glenn Rhee, her husband, in cold blood. She has not particularly liked him ever since.
Rick waged war against Negan for two seasons, ultimately capturing Negan but not killing him. Instead, Negan spent seasons 9 and 10 on a road to redemption, transforming, as a ScreenRant commentator noted, “from a neutered bad guy to a tortured antihero to a budding protagonist.”
While imprisoned, he broke down and even asked Maggie to kill him. After escaping, he returned, torn by his own guilt. He saved Judith and Dog from a blizzard and played a major role taking down the Whisperers.
But during season 11, Maggie said she still harbored resentments against Negan and would love him dead. While she kept Negan around to help take down the Reapers, he decided to disappear at the end of episode nine, which aired last month. He figured Maggie was going to kill him at some point once his utility was over.
Maggie herself has seen her entire family die and at one point, took over the Hilltop. But after that collapsed, she left the area entirely and took over another community off camera. (In reality, the actress Cohan spent a year working on a short-lived ABC show.). Maggie came back to her original crew part-time season nine, then full time for seasons 10 and 11, becoming a leader again.
“Maggie is very close to my heart and I’m excited to continue her journey against the iconic backdrop of New York City, alongside my friend and collaborator, Jeffrey Dean Morgan,” Cohan said in the press release.
“I’m delighted that Negan and Maggie’s journey continues,” Morgan said. “It’s been such a ride walking in Negan’s shoes, I’m beyond excited to continue his journey in New York City with Lauren. Walkers in an urban setting has always been such a cool image, but 5th Avenue, Empire State Building, Statue of Liberty? The greatest city in the world?? The backdrop is amazing.”
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