The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon star Norman Reedus offers an intriguing response about the long-term future of his fan-favorite character. Season 1 of Reedus’ Daryl-centric TWD universe spinoff sent the bike-riding rebel across the pond to France, where he encountered new friends, new enemies, and new, terrifying zombie variants. The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon season 2 will reach back to the past by bringing back Daryl’s long-time bestie Carol, with season 3 already confirmed, and season 4 recently hinted at by Reedus himself.

With season 2 of Daryl Dixon set to premiere on AMC on September 29, Reedus recently gave an estimation of how much longer he can go on playing the character, indicating that he won’t be letting go of Daryl any time soon, and explaining how his continued interest in the character is tied in with the spinoff and the creative exploration it allows. Check out his remarks below (via Mr. Feelgood):

“I think maybe six or seven more years. The ‘Daryl Dixon’ spin-off has given me an opportunity to take the show in a direction that’s different to the original show. I didn’t want to make the same show again in a different location. I wanted to reinvent it. And they let me, with the other like-minded people involved, invent something new. So it feels fresh to me. It’s in a different language. It’s shot a different way. It’s not really about zombies, and who’s going to get bit this week, it’s completely different. So, as long as I keep reinventing it, it’s fun,”

Reedus’ Daryl Dixon Update Is Good News For A Potential TWD Spinoff Crossover

The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon and its fellow spinoffs, Dead City and The Ones Who Live, separated the main series’ remaining major characters for a trio of separate adventures, each centered on a different duo (Daryl Dixon was a solo venture for season 1, but Carol’s season 2 arrival completes the pairing). The strategy proved successful in giving the tired TWD universe a creative refresh, as each show established its own unique setting, visual style and tone, opening the door for further exploration of the world and characters.

Now that TWD is back on track creatively, the big question is whether the spinoffs’ separate threads will ever be knit back together. While a crossover between the three shows might seem the perfect way to finally cap The Walking Dead‘s overarching story, it’s far from certain that the shows’ characters will ever enjoy an on-screen reunion. Chances of that reunion happening are increased if the various actors involved remain interested in playing their characters, and Reedus, for his part, seems willing to continue portraying Daryl long enough to participate in a hypothetical crossover show well down the road.

Even if a final TWD reunion series isn’t in the cards, The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon will be around for at least two more seasons, and possibly three. Reedus’ sense of creative renewal has been good news for fans of AMC’s long-running zombie universe, as Daryl Dixon has taken the driver’s seat in leading the franchise forward into new and interesting territory.

Source: Mr. Feelgood