The Walking Dead just ended the second segment of its final season and fans are eager to see how things finally wrap up in the flagship show’s last bow. Part three of season 11 will likely air sometime later this summer after season 7 of Fear The Walking Dead concludes.
It’s safe to say that while viewership has waned, fans will likely return to see how the main storyline pans out and if any characters from the original series, as well as its spinoffs, might foreshadow future appearances in the long-awaited and much anticipated Rick Grimes movie trilogy.
Iris Bennett (World Beyond)
Aliyah Royale’s Iris was a central figure in The Walking Dead: World Beyond, maturing from a somewhat sheltered Omaha citizen of privilege to a full-fledged resistance fighter against the Civic Republic Military. The CRM has established itself as the most probable antagonist force to pit Andrew Lincoln’s Rick Grimes against, what with the CRM appearing across all three shows as well as having taken him themselves through the machinations of Pollyanna McIntosh’s Jadis.
At the end of World Beyond, Iris traveled to Portland to reveal the CRM’s betrayal of Omaha and enlist the regional power’s assistance in the ongoing struggle against the CRM. It’s a fair bet we’ll be seeing Iris join Rick in some capacity in the CRM rebellion.
Negan (The Walking Dead)
There is little doubt that Jeffrey Dean Morgan’s fan-favorite antihero will cross paths with Rick Grimes once again. The story arc of the venerable one-time villain turned reluctant ally looking for redemption has been a key component of the flagship show and was heavily accented after Andrew Lincolns left the show in season 9, particularly in the dynamic between Negan and Maggie and her long-held struggle for vengeance after Glen’s death at Negan’s hands.
Fans already know Maggie and Negan will end up in Manhattan together due to the announcement of their spinoff show Isle of the Dead, but in what capacity and how it might steer them closer to a reunion with Rick remains to be seen.
Morgan Jones (The Walking Dead/Fear The Walking Dead)
One of Rick’s staunchest allies transitioned from a stellar support character to a compelling leading man when Lennie James’ Morgan Jones jumped ship from the main show to Fear The Walking Dead. Morgan’s had a tough road, often vacillating between reality and delusion via physical or psychological trauma, but Jones has beaten the odds and even managed to craft a family in the irradiated nuclear hell of the southwest with Grace and their adopted child.
It’d be a surprise if Morgan doesn’t end up joining the fray against the CRM and bumping into his old pal Rick, as he’s one of the few honorable characters still in relative command of his humanity.
Althea Szewczyk-Przygocki (Fear The Walking Dead)
While Maggie Grace left the spinoff series with a rare happy ending exit, in that her character Al at last reunited with her CRM helicopter pilot love Isabelle and supposedly left Texas for good, it was an open-ended departure, allowing for the possibility of her return at some point should the Walking Dead universe writers consider a revisiting of the character.
Seeing as how it was Althea’s storyline of bumping into a random member of the CRM which served as the primary story arc in Fear the Walking Dead introducing us to the Civic Republic’s ongoing from-afar operations, it logically follows if Althea and Isabelle show up in Rick’s movies, in some manner.
Michonne Hawthorne (The Walking Dead)
It’s almost certainly a given that Rick’s wife and burgeoning Marvel movie star and documentarian Danai Gurira will be a significant component of one or all the Rick Grimes movies. Gurira’s katana-wielding Michonne was one of the most popular characters to come out of the flagship series and fans were distraught that Danai Gurira only stayed one more season after Andrew Lincoln left, off to pursue other projects yet clearly paving the road for her return.
Michonne’s discovery of Rick’s continued existence and her decision to leave Alexandria in pursuit has dogged fans for years and a reunion between them will be a fan lip service moment. The real Walking Dead question is in what manner they’ll be doing so.
Judith And RJ Grimes (The Walking Dead)
By the same token, Rick’s children have to be a part of his rebooted story. Not only do both Michonne and Rick need to see how their children have matured, but there must also be an extended exposition on how and why both parents, particularly Rick, managed to stay alive yet were somehow unable or unwilling to return to their kids.
It’s been a stick in the craw of many a Walking Dead fan and there will have to be a damned good explanation for why Rick couldn’t ever come back for his children and why Michonne thought leaving them in the hands of Alexandria’s best was the right choice. Still, it’ll be great to see Rick discover how his daughter Judith and son RJ have become such exemplary models of youth leadership.
Jadis Stokes (The Walking Dead/World Beyond)
Jadis started out as an eclectic and murderous leader of the Scavengers faction and ended up offering one of The Walking Dead‘s biggest betrayals when she sold out Rick’s group to Negan, revealing her work for the CRM by abducting other survivors and shipping them off to the CRM.
She eventually proves her worth by delivering them a ‘B’ asset in the form of Rick Grimes. The audience next meets her years later during the events of World Beyond as an officer who usurps the command of Lt. Colonel Kublek. Jadis makes it quite clear that Rick Grimes was, or is, the biggest threat to the CRM as he’s “the strongest person she knows.” It’s a foregone conclusion Jadis will be seen on the big screen as a continued adversary for Rick.
Silas Plaskett (World Beyond)
Silas’ journey through the two seasons of World Beyond was an anguished one. Tortured by memories of killing his abusive father, he was often shunned in Omaha’s campus colony and only started to come out of his PTSD shell once he’d joined Iris and Hope’s quest to find their father in New York.
After joining the CRM in a trainee capacity to spy on its fringe operations, Silas is discovered by Jadis to have surreptitious motives, yet she’s impressed with his strength and is sure she can convince him to become loyal to the CRM, sending him off to train as an official soldier in the CRM’s secret location. Whether Silas will end up being an ally or an adversary to Rick, only time will tell.
Maggie Rhee (The Walking Dead)
Lauren Cohan’s Maggie has been a major part of the core series since season two. Her storyline crisscrosses with a great number of other significant Walking Dead character arcs, including Herschel (her father and her son), Glen, Daryl, Negan, Carol, Georgie, and she eventually becomes the de facto leader of the Hilltop community.
Her ongoing frenemy back and forth with Negan has been one of the series’ most prevalent aspects, so much so a spinoff was green-lighted for Maggie and Negan. It’s not too far a stretch to envision an ultimate showdown with the CRM involving Maggie Rhee’s leadership and survival skills aiding Rick Grimes in a significant fashion.
Daryl Dixon (The Walking Dead)
It’s probable that Norman Reedus’ Daryl might be one of the most important characters to show up in the Rick Grimes movies. While it was recently confirmed that Melissa McBride bowed out of their expected spinoff series due to the show’s requirements of filming in Europe, Reedus is expected to carry on his Dixon character nonetheless within the Eurocentric setting.
This is extremely important because, as was seen at the end of World Beyond, fans can soon expect zombie variants of the 28 Days Later type, increasing the stakes and suspense of upcoming Walking Dead universe projects dramatically. It’s an absolute certainty that fans will be seeing rabid zombies in the Rick movies, and his brother Daryl will likely be a part of it.
