The Walking Dead cast shares memories of the series at NYCC’s final panel

However the last eight episodes of the ZombieAs the final season of the show aired, the cast made their final bittersweet bow this weekend at New York City Comics. Censorship as always Talking DeadChris Hardwick’s, the jury included Walking corpses content directors Scott M. Gimple, Norman Reedus, Lauren Cohan, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Lauren Ridloff, Eleanor Matsuura, Michael James Shaw and Paola Lázaro.

First, fans got a special look at the opening two minutes of the October 9 episode, “A New Deal.” One particularly violent moment from Norman Reedus’ character Daryl received such enthusiastic cheers from the crowd that both Hardwick and Reedus commented on it. (Reedus also observed that when Carol approached Daryl in the pre-violent scene, the room was completely still and quiet.)

“It all comes together,” Gimple famously said quietly about the final episodes. (In the Q&A section of the panel, one fan labeled answers that weren’t his “Gimplisms,” which Hardwick swore to steal.) What he promised was all the staff. The object will reach its final form, like a Pokémon.

Of course with spin-offs in the works, the ending isn’t really the end for some of the cast – and so the executive team also has some work in charge to deal with. In addition to the ongoing series Fear The Walking Deadlimited series The Walking Dead: The World Beyond, and anthology series Tales of the Walking Dead, There are three upcoming series in The Walking Dead universe. First, and currently filming in New Jersey, is Maggie and Negan series titled The Walking Dead: Dead City. Fans have been shown some stills from the upcoming series that show Maggie in a bar, wearing a new leather jacket. He also revealed that the series will premiere in April 2023.

Gimple doesn’t have much to share about Rick and Michonne spin-off, was first conceived as a feature-length film. But there have been updates about side story by Daryl Dixon, set and will shoot in Paris, France. Reedus described the series as “epic in scope” and said that France was not ready for what it wanted to do. “There was a lot of talk,” said Reedus, hinting lightly The passing of Melissa McBride from the series. “Refrigerate. Everything will be fine.” He also gives fans a Gimplism of his own, promising “familiar faces”.

But with the main series ending and Gimple can’t tease that (without simply spoiling the various shows and upcoming endings), the cast was given a homework assignment: Each brought a photo from the filming of the series to share with the group like a starting point to reminisce about their experience.

Gimple was the first to share a photo. He picks up a handwritten letter he once left for the hotel laundry service after the original Danai Gurira scene, where she opens a special walk-in gorey: “Please note: this is not real blood. I work for Zombie.“As he remembers, the blood wasn’t even a by-product of his involvement on the scene; After he encouraged her to actually do it, she gave him fake blood by hugging him tightly and soiling a shirt he had to give a stranger to wash.

Reedus brought in a sepia-toned photo of himself and Michael Rooker, who plays Merle Dixon, his character’s brother, from the early days of Zombie. Reedus talks about being a fan of Rooker from the movie Henry: Portrait of a serial killer before forming a brotherhood with him on Zombiemade him reflect on how Rooker’s character helped him better define who Daryl should be.

Image: AMC

During the Q&A session, a fan asked him how it felt to create a character that wasn’t from the comics. Reedus says he feels very free to take the character in any direction, and even pushes Daryl not to be the Merle 2.0 of the day. “There was a storyline that they allowed me to change,” he said. He wanted to discover what it would be like if Daryl was ashamed of his family. “Once [Merle’s] Outside of the painting, it allows Daryl to stand on her own two feet and be her own person. “

Cohan provided a blurry shot of the cast playing Head’s Up at dinner – the blurrier the better, as that means they’re having fun during the time when the cast doesn’t give their farewell speeches at The “dinner of death” is traditionally held when an actor has been killed off the show, and instead just plays around. Morgan’s photo – of a group of selfies taken at lunch on Andrew Lincoln’s last day – likewise shows the close friendship of the cast and crew.

“I chose that photo because it was my fourth time seeing Norman,” Morgan said. “It shows you the kindness of these people and how they welcome you. I just think it perfectly encapsulates exactly the hug these guys gave me.”

Ridloff and Matsuura, both of whom joined the show in season 9, both brought with them photos of their “small gang,” in Matsuura’s group (aka Magna’s Group) at other times. each other in that season. Matsuura has been carrying one since the end of their first year, when the rest of the group were all nervous about making it to the season finale. “I don’t want to leave,” she said. “I don’t want it to stop. I’m sure you all feel the same way.”

Finally, claiming to be “Walking corpses baby” Shaw, who recently joined the show as Mercer (though, from the boisterous crowd, you never know he’s only on his final season) shared a snap of him in costume with a walker played by Greg Nicotero, Zombie Executive producer, frequent director and renowned makeup artist. “There are so many ‘Big Boys With Toys’ moments on Zombie, and I feel like the best I’ve ever had with Greg. Shaw also dedicated his performance to his father, who passed away earlier this year, and talked about how the cast and producers have supported him.

Photo by Bryan Bedder / Getty Images for ReedPop

At the bottom of the table, Gimple answered a question about how the manga ended and whether the flash ahead in those final pages was ever made into a play. “The way the comic book ended was amazing,” he said. “Robert [Kirkman] spread it on all of us, and I love that he did. I love that I didn’t get a call with surprise about it. Because he’s messed things up for me over the years. I will tell you that I want to go into that world. ”

It’s not just a good thing to speculate as fans wait and see Zombie will end and what happens next in the extended universe, but it makes that ending less bittersweet. The show continues to be revived through reshoots and new locations as well as varying continuity of character arcs. There will be new photos to share. Goodbye is not the same as goodbye.