<ul class="summary-list"><li>Warning: There are spoilers ahead for "TWD: World Beyond" season two premiere.</li><li><keyword id="12236995" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="nico-tortorella" source="Orion">Nico Tortorella</keyword>'s character Felix has a large blackout tattoo to cover their real-life tats.</li><li>Showrunner Matt Negrete tells Insider how they came up with the blackout idea.</li></ul><p>Nico Tortorella's character has a massive blackout tattoo on "<a href="https://insider.com/category/the-walking-dead">TWD: World Beyond.</a>" </p><p>Although we've seen it before on season one, on Sunday's season two premiere, Felix removes his shirt to reveal the black ink again, which runs up the length of his left arm and partially onto his chest. </p><p>In real life, Tortorella has dozens of tattoos, but a blackout tat isn't among them.</p><p>Felix's ink on the show was the result of a series of conversations showrunner Matt Negrete and "TWD" universe chief Scott M. Gimple had with Tortorella.</p><p>"It started off as mostly a practical conversation because Nico has a lot of tattoos," Negrete told Insider of the process of coming up with Felix's very large tattoo on the "Walking Dead" spinoff.</p><div type="image" title="TWDWB 201 Felix's blackout tattoo" height="1592" width="2843" msid="86744960" hostid="261"></div><p>In 2017, Tortorella told Today Style they have "<a href="https://www.today.com/style/younger-star-nico-tortorella-tattoos-being-empath-t116088">too many [tattoos] to count.</a>" Most recently, they acquired an elaborate tattoo that runs from the back of their neck all the way down to their heel.</p><p>Originally, Negrete considered embracing and incorporating Tortorella's wide array of tats onto the show. Ultimately, Negrete didn't think it would make sense with Felix's character background.</p><p>"My first instinct was, 'Let's embrace them,'" Negrete said. "But the more you kind of get a closer look at them, those specific tattoos didn't feel like the kind of tattoos you'd get in the apocalypse. Some of them were of Nico's grandparents."</p><blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:800; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px); data.width~800;"><div style="padding:8px;"><div style="background:#F8F8F8; line-height:0; margin-top:40px; padding:62.4537037037% 0; text-align:center; width:100%;"><div style="background:url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAACwAAAAsCAMAAAApWqozAAAABGdBTUEAALGPC/xhBQAAAAFzUkdCAK7OHOkAAAAMUExURczMzPf399fX1+bm5mzY9AMAAADiSURBVDjLvZXbEsMgCES5/P8/t9FuRVCRmU73JWlzosgSIIZURCjo/ad+EQJJB4Hv8BFt+IDpQoCx1wjOSBFhh2XssxEIYn3ulI/6MNReE07UIWJEv8UEOWDS88LY97kqyTliJKKtuYBbruAyVh5wOHiXmpi5we58Ek028czwyuQdLKPG1Bkb4NnM+VeAnfHqn1k4+GPT6uGQcvu2h2OVuIf/gWUFyy8OWEpdyZSa3aVCqpVoVvzZZ2VTnn2wU8qzVjDDetO90GSy9mVLqtgYSy231MxrY6I2gGqjrTY0L8fxCxfCBbhWrsYYAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC); display:block; height:44px; margin:0 auto -44px; position:relative; top:-22px; width:44px;"></div></div><p style="margin:8px 0 0 0; padding:0 4px;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CKZkWNsDZMm" style=" color:#000; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none; word-wrap:break-word;" target="_blank"></a></p> <p style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;">A post shared by nico tortorella. (@nicotortorella)<time style=" font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px;" datetime=""></time></p></div></blockquote><p>"Felix is someone ... who's very much separate from his family, whose family chose not to embrace him," Negrete continued. "So it felt weird that after the apocalypse here was this guy who decided to immortalize his family on his arm."</p><p>Through season one flashbacks, viewers learn Felix's father failed to accept his sexuality and, upon discovering private correspondences with a boyfriend, disowned him. At the start of the apocalypse, when Felix attempted to return home, they rejected him once again.</p><p>Before landing on a blackout tattoo, the show first tried covering up Tortorella's many arm tats.</p><p>"We tried covering it up and it just seemed like there's so much to cover up," Negrete said, turning to Tortorella. "When we're asking actors to do something with their bodies, it's a very personal thing. These tattoos are also very personal to Nico. I definitely wanted Nico's input at the same time."</p><p>The two started brainstorming other ways they could creatively cover up Tortorella's ink. </p><div type="image" title="TWDWB Felix arm tattoo" height="1336" width="1196" msid="86744961" hostid="261"></div>"I forget exactly how this came up; the idea of just a blackout tattoo that would just be a whole arm that's essentially a long sleeve. It's just black," Negrete said, adding that the thing they liked about the sleeve was that it felt like a reflection of Felix's character.<p>"We leaned into it a bit in season one where he talks about [how] he's lost so many people and every time he kind of loses someone or something or a part of himself, it sort of became this tattoo that became this long blackout tattoo," Negrete said of the ink's meaning, which is discussed on the show's fourth episode, "The Wrong End of a Telescope."</p><p>Negrete added, "It really was this sort of dark solemn thing that he carried with him at all times to always remember the people he's lost and the things he's lost in the apocalypse. Everyone has lost something. That's just Felix's way of honoring everyone from his past that's no longer with him that he cared about at one time."</p><p><em>You can <a href="https://www.insider.com/category/the-walking-dead">follow along with our "The Walking Dead" coverage here</a>. "TWD: World Beyond" airs Sundays at 10 p.m. on <keyword id="11911241" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="amc" source="Orion">AMC</keyword>. New episodes stream a week early on AMC+. </em></p>

'TWD: World Beyond' showrunner explains how Nico Tortorella helped come up with a blackout tattoo for their character and the 'dark' meaning behind it

14 celebrities who don't identify as either male or female

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Nico Tortorella stars on the new "Walking Dead" spinoff "<keyword id="952399" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="60" keywordseo="The-Walking-Dead">The Walking Dead</keyword>: World Beyond."</li><li>During a set visit, Tortorella told Insider the series will lead us to the Rick Grimes "TWD" movies that were announced in 2018.</li><li>Tortorella also claims to know "exactly" where the missing Rick Grimes is located.</li></ul><p>It's been about two years since Rick Grimes <a href="https://www.insider.com/walking-dead-where-did-rick-go-helicopter-2018-11">flew away from</a> "<a href="https://www.insider.com/category/the-walking-dead">The Walking Dead</a>" in a <a href="https://www.insider.com/fear-the-walking-dead-helicopter-people-who-took-rick-2019-5">mysterious helicopter</a>. While fans anxiously await to learn his whereabouts, at least one person claims to know Rick's location.</p><p>"I know exactly where he is, but I'm not allowed to answer that question," Nico Tortorella told Insider and a small group of journalists last November from the set of "<a href="https://www.insider.com/category/the-walking-dead-world-beyond">The Walking Dead: World Beyond</a>" when asked where Rick may be.</p><p>When met with disbelief, Tortorella doubled down. </p><p>"Yeah, I do. I'm not f---ing with you," Tortorella said. "I absolutely do."</p><iframe width="100%" height="300" scrolling="no" frameborder="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/896552878%3Fsecret_token%3Ds-U2JDNljlV8j&amp;color=%239c7c6c&amp;auto_play=false&amp;hide_related=false&amp;show_comments=true&amp;show_user=true&amp;show_reposts=false&amp;show_teaser=true&amp;visual=true"></iframe><a href="https://soundcloud.com/not_kristen" title="Kirsten" target="_blank" style="color: #cccccc; text-decoration: none;">Kirsten</a> · <a href="https://soundcloud.com/not_kristen/nico-tortorella-knows-rick-grimes-location/s-U2JDNljlV8j" title="Nico Tortorella knows where Rick Grimes is, says World Beyond is imperative for TWD movies" target="_blank" style="color: #cccccc; text-decoration: none;">Nico Tortorella knows where Rick Grimes is, says World Beyond is imperative for TWD movies</a><p>Tortorella plays Felix, the head of security detail at an Omaha, Nebraska, community on <keyword id="6358378" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="amc">AMC</keyword>'s third "Walking Dead" series, which takes place 10 years into the zombie apocalypse. If you're skeptical about Tortorella's claim, there's real reason to believe the actor knows Rick's whereabouts.</p><p>Felix wears a jacket emblazoned with the same symbol seen on the helicopter that took Rick and Anne away on season nine. In the last year, we've learned the symbol stands for the <a href="https://comicbook.com/thewalkingdead/news/the-walking-dead-meaning-of-crm-revealed-world-beyond-clip-civic-republic-military/">Civic Republic Military (CRM)</a>. The Omaha community is one of three factions that makes up the CRM. </p><div type="image" title="nico tortorella felix twdwb" height="1334" width="2000" msid="78227788" hostid="261"></div><p>Before joining the spinoff, Tortorella, who uses they/them pronouns, asked showrunner Matt Negrete and chief operating officer of "TWD" universe Scott Gimple why more "Walking Dead" was necessary during a two-hour phone conversation last July.</p><p>In the end, Tortorella was intrigued by the ultimate goal of the limited series. They flew down to Richmond, Virginia, three days later to start shooting on their birthday, July 30. </p><p>"What's happening right now is pieces are getting put together to lead us to the movies, which will then lead us to even more storylines," said Tortorella. "It's all part of a bigger picture and we're just characters in this story."</p><p>"I think this show is leading us to the bigger picture of a connection to all three of the movies," Tortorella added. "We're just gathering as much information as possible to wherever Rick is."</p><div type="image" title="twd 905 rick grimes" height="2000" width="3000" msid="78227791" hostid="261"></div><p><a href="https://www.insider.com/walking-dead-rick-grimes-movies-2018-11">First announced in November 2018</a>, the planned the Rick Grimes trilogy is set for an unspecified theatrical date from Universal Pictures. During a virtual San Diego Comic-Con panel in July, "TWD" creator Robert Kirkman said he's "<a href="https://www.insider.com/robert-kirkman-andrew-lincoln-working-on-walking-dead-movies">very hands-on</a>" with shaping the story and has been in contact with Andrew Lincoln "quite frequently" during the development phase.</p><p>"The Walking Dead: World Beyond" premieres on AMC on Sunday, October 4 at 10 p.m. after the season 10 finale of "TWD." </p><p>You can follow <a href="https://insider.com/category/the-walking-dead">along with our "Walking Dead" coverage here</a>. </p>

'The Walking Dead: World Beyond' star Nico Tortorella knows where Rick Grimes is and teases the spinoff will lead us toward the long-awaited movies

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Nico Tortorella almost joined "TWD" universe years ago.</li><li>Tortorella told Insider they auditioned for a lead role as Nick Clark on "FearTWD," but didn't get the role.</li><li>"TWD" family didn't forget Tortorella. Last summer, chief content officer of "TWD" universe called the actor to discuss joining the latest spinoff, "World Beyond."</li><li>It premieres October 4 at 10 p.m. on <keyword id="6358378" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="amc">AMC</keyword>.</li></ul><p>Nico Tortorella stars on the new "<a href="https://insider.com/category/the-walking-dead">Walking Dead</a>" spinoff, "<a href="https://insider.com/category/the-walking-dead-world-beyond">The Walking Dead: World Beyond</a>," but the actor nearly could have joined "TWD" universe years ago as a different lead character.</p><p>"I auditioned for 'Fear <keyword id="952399" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="60" keywordseo="The-Walking-Dead">the Walking Dead</keyword>' and I didn't get," Tortorella told Insider from the set of "TWD: World Beyond" in Richmond, Virginia last November. "I never watched it because of that."</p><h2><strong>Who did he audition for? One of the lead characters, Nick.</strong></h2><p>"For the son, for the heroin addict," Tortorella said of his audition. </p><div type="image" title="fear the walking dead nick alycia" height="2699" width="3600" msid="78227774" hostid="261"></div><p>Instead, Frank Dillane played Nick Clark on "Fear" from 2015 to 2018 until the actor <a href="https://ew.com/tv/2018/04/30/fear-the-walking-dead-frank-dillane-nick-good-out-here/">asked to leave the show on season four</a>. As a result, Nick was killed off the show. </p><h2><strong>How Tortorella joined 'TWDWB': A two-hour phone call</strong></h2><p>While the "Younger" star was in Indonesia doing work with queer youth last summer, Tortorella — who uses they/them pronouns — received a call from their team saying showrunner Matt Negrete and chief operating officer of "TWD" universe Scott Gimple wanted to jump on a call and have a conversation about "World Beyond." </p><p>"All I knew was that the character was queer and I was excited to jump on the phone," said Tortorella, who hadn't auditioned or read a script for the series. "We had about a two-hour conversation and walked through a lot of the politics of the show."</p><div type="image" title="twdwb felix walking dead world beyond key art" height="1667" width="2500" msid="78227775" hostid="261"></div><p>Tortorella inquired about the necessity for another "Walking Dead" series and why this one mattered before joining. They were interested in the ultimate goal of the show, which sounds like it will lead to the previously announced Rick Grimes/"Walking Dead movies.</p><p>"I understood how massive 'The Walking Dead' universe was after that phone call," said Tortorella. "Pieces are getting put together to lead us to the movies, which will then lead us to even more storylines. It's all part of a bigger picture and we're just characters in this story."</p><p>Tortorella isn't playing a heroin addict on "World Beyond." Their character, Felix, is the head of security detail at a community in Omaha, Nebraska.</p><h2><strong>A personal connection to the show</strong></h2><p><strong><div type="image" title="twdwb 101 nico tortorella" height="1667" width="2500" msid="78227776" hostid="261"></div></strong></p><p>One line that really stayed with Tortorella, who identifies as non-binary, was when Gimple told him, the binary that exists post-apocalypse is "dead" and "alive," and it clicked.</p><p>"It made so much sense to me. So I was in," said Tortorella.</p><p>Tortorella was in Richmond, Virginia, three days later on July 23, 2019. Filming began a week later on the actor's birthday. Coincidentally, it's a birthday Tortorella shares with their "World Beyond" character, Felix.</p><p>"Cosmically, everything aligns fully," said Tortorella.</p><p>"TWDWB" premieres on Sunday, October 4 at 10 p.m. on AMC. You can follow <a href="https://insider.com/category/the-walking-dead">along with our "Walking Dead" coverage here</a>. </p>

'The Walking Dead: World Beyond' star originally auditioned for a lead role on 'Fear TWD'

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Insider asked some of the cast of "<keyword id="952399" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="60" keywordseo="The-Walking-Dead">The Walking Dead</keyword>: World Beyond" where they believe Rick Grimes is located.</li><li>Grimes went missing on season nine of "<keyword id="1551743" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="TWD">TWD</keyword>" after he flew away in a helicopter linked to the Civic Republic Military (CRM).</li><li>The third "Walking Dead" spinoff series, which debuts Sunday, October 4 at 10 p.m. on AMC, will tell us more about the CRM.</li><li>"TWDWB" star Nico Tortorella claims to know exactly where Grimes is located.</li></ul><p>AMC's next "<a href="https://www.insider.com/category/the-walking-dead">Walking Dead</a>" spinoff, "<a href="https://www.insider.com/category/the-walking-dead-world-beyond">World Beyond</a>," is supposed to give us some more information about the mysterious <a href="https://www.insider.com/walking-dead-why-rick-left-show-on-helicopter-2018-11">group that took Rick Grimes in 2018</a> and serve <a href="https://www.insider.com/the-walking-dead-world-beyond-nico-tortorella-knows-rick-grimes-location">as a bridge to his forthcoming "TWD" films</a>.</p><p>"I think this show is leading us to the bigger picture of a connection to all three of the movies," "World Beyond" star Nico Tortorella told Insider last November from the set of "TWDWB" in Richmond, Virginia.</p><p>"We're just gathering as much information as possible to wherever Rick is," Tortorella added.</p><p>Does that mean the third "TWD" series will finally tell us where Grimes is in the expanded "TWD" universe? Maybe. </p><p>While on the set of "World Beyond," Insider asked some of the cast members their best guesses as to where Rick may be. Most of them shied away from a response, but one of them surprised us by saying they know exactly where Grimes is located. </p><h2><strong>Nicolas Cantu had the best theory of the cast we spoke with: He likes to believe Rick's in New York City</strong></h2><div type="image" title="twdwb nicolas cantu elton" height="1108" width="1478" msid="78286084" hostid="261"></div><p>Cantu said he first watched 'The Walking Dead' when he was about nine with his father and has been following the show through recap videos. He believes the CRM helicopters must have taken Rick somewhere important.</p><p>"What I think would be cool is if there's this huge actual great, great society just in New York City," Cantu said. "Somehow, they took over New York City and it's this bustling utopia and that's where he is. That's what I think."</p><p>"That's not connected to any knowledge," Cantu added.</p><h2><strong>Alexa Mansour said she honestly has no clue</strong></h2><p><strong><div type="image" title="twdwb 101 hope" height="1666" width="2500" msid="78286086" hostid="261"></div></strong></p><p>"I have no idea," Mansour whispered, admitting she wasn't completely caught up on the entire "TWD" series when we spoke.</p><p>"I haven't gotten that far. I'm only on like season two," said Mansour, who plays Hope. "I watched the first season when I was younger, but it gave me nightmares. I have no idea where Rick is." </p><h2><strong>Annet Mahendru stayed tight-lipped about saying anything</strong></h2><p><strong><div type="image" title="twdwb 101 huck" height="1666" width="2500" msid="78286088" hostid="261"></div></strong></p><p>Mahendru comes to the show from FX's "The Americans," so she's used to keeping some heavily guarded secrets. She plays a security detail, Huck, for the Omaha community on "World Beyond" and kept coy when we asked where she thinks Rick could be.</p><p>"There's parallels and crossovers in some ways, but I'll let you figure that one out," Manhendru said. </p><h2><strong>Tortorella knows exactly where Rick Grimes is located</strong></h2><p>"I know exactly where he is, but I'm not allowed to answer that question," <a href="https://www.insider.com/the-walking-dead-world-beyond-nico-tortorella-knows-rick-grimes-location">said Tortorella</a> who plays Huck's colleague and head of security, Felix. </p><div type="image" title="twdwb nico tortorella felix" height="1666" width="2500" msid="78286090" hostid="261"></div><p>If Tortorella really knows where Rick is located, perhaps we'll learn more about his whereabouts by the end of the limited two-season series. </p><p>"World Beyond" debuts on AMC on Sunday, October 4 at 10 p.m. You can <a href="https://www.insider.com/category/the-walking-dead">follow along with our "Walking Dead" coverage here</a>.</p>

'The Walking Dead: World Beyond' cast tells us where they think Rick Grimes is in the zombie apocalypse

<ul class="summary-list"><li>"<keyword id="952399" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="60" keywordseo="The-Walking-Dead">The Walking Dead</keyword>: World Beyond" premieres on <keyword id="6358378" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="amc">AMC</keyword> October 4 at 10 p.m.</li><li>"<keyword id="1551743" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="TWD">TWD</keyword>" chief content officer, Scott Gimple, tells Insider the show decided on this spinoff to do something different within the universe.</li><li>Gimple says we'll learn more about the helicopter people who took Rick Grimes on "World Beyond."</li><li>Gimple confirms it's fair to say "World Beyond" will lead to the Rick Grimes' movies, but the movies "are their own thing."</li><li>Don't expect to see Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) appear on the show.</li></ul><p>The third "<a href="https://www.insider.com/category/the-walking-dead">TWD</a>" series, "<a href="https://www.insider.com/category/the-walking-dead-world-beyond">The Walking Dead: World Beyond</a>," debuts on AMC Sunday, October 4.</p><p>If you've seen any trailers or marketing for it, the series takes place 10 years into the zombie apocalypse and follows an entirely <a href="https://www.insider.com/the-walking-dead-world-beyond-cast-info">new group of teens</a> as they leave their community in Omaha, Nebraska, for the first time. But it doesn't really sell you on why you should care about this show and these people in "TWD" universe next.</p><p>If you've been following the fictional zombie apocalypse since 2010, you may be wondering why <em>this</em> is the show we're getting instead of one centered around other popular characters like Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) or the recently announced anthology series that will look back at some previous characters. </p><p>When asked that very question by Insider, "TWD" universe content chief officer Scott Gimple said, "The reason that we're not doing those other shows you mentioned, or at least we're not doing them right now, was to show a different corner of the apocalypse, a different corner of 'The Walking Dead,' and to have very different characters with very different experiences."</p><p>"We're going to be getting to the things that you mentioned before," he added, not clarifying whether or not he was talking about the anthology series, a potential Negan spinoff, both, or something else entirely.</p><p>Maybe that explanation didn't knock your socks off. That's understandable because that's really not the most interesting thing about "World Beyond."</p><p>While on the set of the spinoff last November, star Nico Tortorella told Insider the show <a href="https://www.insider.com/the-walking-dead-world-beyond-nico-tortorella-knows-rick-grimes-location">will lead into the highly-anticipated Rick Grimes' movies</a>, starring actor Andrew Lincoln. That's something fans would probably like to know more about and would give people a big reason to tune into a limited two-season series.</p><p>So, during a wide-ranging conversation <a href="https://www.insider.com/scott-gimple-explains-carol-daryl-twd-show-teases-spinoffs-2020-9">about "TWD" spinoffs</a>, the <a href="https://www.insider.com/the-walking-dead-never-considered-toilet-paper-panic-until-pandemic">pandemic's effect on the shows</a>, and <a href="https://www.insider.com/rick-grimes-movie-script-hopeful-for-trilogy-2020-9">those Rick Grimes' movies</a>, we asked Gimple to be straight with us about "World Beyond's" connection to Grimes, <a href="https://www.insider.com/walking-dead-is-rick-dead-alive-2018-11">who left "TWD" in November 2018</a> in a mystery helicopter. </p><h2><strong>'TWD: World Beyond' will tell fans more about the mystery helicopter group that took Rick Grimes</strong></h2><p><strong><div type="image" title="rick walking dead helicopter" height="600" width="1200" msid="78410997" hostid="261"></div></strong></p><p>For the past two years, fans have been waiting for some sort of answer regarding Rick's (Lincoln) disappearance. Who does that helicopter belong to? Where did it take him? Why has he been missing for years on end? What did the symbol on the helicopter mean? (We now know the latter is the symbol of a group of communities called the Civic Republic Military aka the CRM).</p><p>At some point over the next two seasons of "World Beyond," that will change.</p><p>"We find out a lot about the people who ostensibly have the helicopter that Rick Grimes was ferried away on. You find out a lot about those people," said Gimple. </p><p>On "World Beyond," we're introduced to a woman named Elizabeth Kublek (Julia Ormond) who has a leadership role in the CRM.</p><div type="image" title="twdwb elizabeth" height="1221" width="1629" msid="78411001" hostid="261"></div><p>"We do not find out specifically about Rick Grimes and these people," Gimple said, tempering expectations. "But finding out about these people really does give an idea of the situation that Rick Grimes has found himself in."</p><h2><strong>Gimple confirms it is fair to say 'TWD: World Beyond' will lead to the Rick Grimes' films, but that doesn't mean you should expect to see him</strong></h2><p><strong><div type="image" title="twdwb 101 " height="1666" width="2500" msid="78411004" hostid="261"></div></strong></p><p>"TWD: World Beyond" actor Nico Tortorella, who uses they/them pronouns, previously told Insider they joined the show after a two-hour phone conversation with Gimple and showrunner Matt Negrete in which they <a href="https://www.insider.com/the-walking-dead-world-beyond-nico-tortorella-knows-rick-grimes-location">were told the point of the limited two-series season</a>.</p><p>According to Tortorella, the show will serve, more or less, as a bridge between "World Beyond" and the upcoming <a href="https://www.insider.com/rick-grimes-movie-script-hopeful-for-trilogy-2020-9">"TWD" movie(s)</a>. Tortorella specifically said the limited series will lead into the first Rick Grimes' film.</p><p>"I think the show is leading us to the bigger picture of a connection to all three of the movies," Tortorella told Insider.</p><p>Gimple said he couldn't remember the details of the call. When Insider read Tortorella's above quote to Gimple and asked whether or not it was accurate to say the show will lead to the movies, Gimple said, "That's not an unfair statement at all."</p><div type="image" title="twdwb felix walking dead world beyond key art" height="1667" width="2500" msid="78411007" hostid="261"></div><p>Gimple then added, "But the movies are their own thing. This anthology ['World Beyond'] is a really big, really intense sort of world and situation. It isn't the only new mythology we're introducing in 'The Walking Dead' universe, but it's the first one."</p><p>"It absolutely relates to Rick's story, but this is a different corner of even that mythology. So [they're] not wrong," Gimple said of Tortorella's read on "World Beyond." "It does feed into Rick's situation completely, but it's a big enough mythology that it isn't, you know, Rick is not going to be walking out from around the corner. This does start to sort of paint the world that Rick is somehow involved in."</p><p>In other words, no, Andrew Lincoln will likely not be appearing in the show.</p><p>"The Walking Dead: World Beyond" premieres Sunday, October 4 on AMC at 10 p.m. after "TWD" season 10 finale.</p><ul class="read-more-links"><li>Read more:</li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/rick-grimes-movie-script-hopeful-for-trilogy-2020-9">'The Walking Dead' universe chief says Robert Kirkman is working on the Rick Grimes' movie script and he's still hopeful for a trilogy</a></li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/the-walking-dead-world-beyond-nico-tortorella-knows-rick-grimes-location">'The Walking Dead: World Beyond' star Nico Tortorella knows where Rick Grimes is and teases the spinoff will lead us toward the long-awaited movies</a></li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/the-walking-dead-world-beyond-cast-info">Everything you need to know about 'The Walking Dead: World Beyond' cast and how they landed their roles on the show</a></li></ul>

'The Walking Dead' universe chief discusses Rick's connection to the new spinoff show 'World Beyond'

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Warning: There are spoilers ahead for season 11, episode 18 of "The Walking Dead," "A New Deal."</li><li>Lance told Pamela that if anything happens to him, certain alliances may become a problem.</li></ul><p>On Sunday's episode of "The Walking Dead," Governor Pamela Milton (Laila Robins) tells her right-hand man Lance Hornsby that his life at the Commonwealth is over. Milton recently learned that Lance, power-hungry, and out to prove himself, was going rogue and abusing his power as second-in-command, killing others without her knowledge.</p><p>Shocked and in disbelief, Lance warns Pamela that she still needs him: "If something happens to me, certain alliances the Commonwealth has, certain stabilizing factors, are likely to become a problem."</p><p>Milton may believe Hornsby is bluffing in order to weasel his way out of getting stripped of his role in the Commonwealth, but she may be very, very wrong.</p><div type="image" title="TWD 1118 Lance" height="1946" width="1200" msid="94767697" hostid="261" sizebytes="90480"></div><p>If you've been watching "TWD" closely, that single line of dialogue should've made your ears perk.</p><p>We've seen one group that Lance has an alliance with, but it's possible there's a more important alliance Hornsby formed that hasn't been seen on screen yet. For some time, "TWD" has been dropping potential clues that the Commonwealth has ties to another nameless community.</p><p>And it has us wondering: Does Lance Hornsby have some sort of secret arrangement with the Civic Republic Military? In case you don't recall, <a href="https://www.insider.com/the-walking-dead-who-are-helicopter-people-crm">they're the group of 200,000 people who took Rick</a> and that was at the center of the spin-off series "TWD: World Beyond."</p><p>We hope so.</p><p>It would be a great way for the series' final episodes to wrap up some loose ends and tie the flagship to some of its spin-offs. </p><p>Let's walk through the clues that have us convinced we could see a connection between Lance and the CRM on the show's final episodes.</p><h2><strong>Where are all of these other missing people at the Commonwealth? The CRM provides the perfect solution.</strong></h2><div type="image" title="TWD 101 Elizabeth and CRM" height="2670" width="4005" msid="94767700" hostid="261" sizebytes="1074086"></div><p>The final episodes of "TWD" have the opportunity to link together disappearances at the Commonwealth with a few other mysterious ones we've seen over the years on the apocalyptic drama.</p><p>We know that Sebastian was inadvertently responsible for the deaths of some people at the Commonwealth, but, as a reminder, there was a pretty long list of missing people that Kelly and her sister Connie acquired on season 11, episode 11.</p><p>A few episodes later, on season 11, episode 17, Connie briefly mentioned to Kelly that there are still a lot of missing people whose whereabouts they don't know about. We're hoping that's not a random plot that will be dropped.</p><div type="image" title="Connie missing people CRM" height="1585" width="2824" msid="94767702" hostid="261" sizebytes="115996"></div><p>Where could they be? </p><p>If they're not dead, one thought is that they could've been traded to another community either for supplies or in exchange for an alliance or to be left alone.</p><p>If that sounds out of the blue, it's not.</p><p>"TWD" has previously brought up the idea of people going missing only to later reveal on or off screen that they wound up in the care of the Civic Republic Military. </p><div type="image" title="Corey Hawkins TWD 612 Heath" height="2403" width="3600" msid="94767704" hostid="261" sizebytes="362086"></div><p>Seasons earlier, showrunner Angela Kang told Insider that Jadis <a href="https://www.insider.com/walking-dead-what-happened-to-heath-2018-11">traded Heath to the CRM in exchange for supplies</a>. </p><p>On season 11, episode 13, we briefly learned that Lance was setting some supplies aside for something, possibly a group. He revealed that he took some of the resources to rebuild Alexandria and directed them toward a secret project, referred to as "that other thing."</p><div type="image" title="TWD 1113 Lance" height="1200" width="1200" msid="94767707" hostid="261" sizebytes="78370"></div><p>Unfortunately, because of Daryl's former girlfriend Leah, those supplies were intercepted and never found their way to their original destination. The hiccup resulted in Lance's rogue Commonwealth militia wrongfully accusing Annie's group of stealing the supplies and murdering a good number of them.</p><p>Before getting locked up, Lance became so preoccupied with Daryl's extended group that he never circled back to the fact that his supplies didn't go to "that other thing." Is someone going to come looking for them?</p><h2><strong>It would seem strange if the Civic Republic Military wasn't aware of the Commonwealth's existence</strong></h2><div type="image" title="TWD 1110 Mercer" height="3000" width="4500" msid="94767709" hostid="261" sizebytes="836620"></div><p>It's becoming increasingly unbelievable that the CRM's massive group of 200,000 wouldn't be aware of a group the size of the Commonwealth's 50,000 in Ohio.</p><p>From "TWD: World Beyond," we know that the main three CRM sites were located in and around Ithaca, New York, Portland, Oregon, and Omaha, Nebraska. The latter site was destroyed. </p><p>Additionally, season one, episode seven of "World Beyond" revealed that the Civic Republic Military had secret oil reserves hidden throughout the US so they could refuel their helicopters.</p><div type="image" title="TWDWB 107 oil reserves" height="1596" width="2768" msid="94767712" hostid="261" sizebytes="71368"></div><p>Where are these reserves?</p><p>Two are in Ohio while others are located in Pennsylvania, Indiana, Illinois, West Virginia, Kentucky, and North Virginia, near what appears to be Washington, DC.</p><p>The Commonwealth is situated in an unknown spot in Ohio. Additionally, Daryl and his crew's main home is located in Alexandria, Virginia.</p><p>Are we supposed to believe the CRM and the Commonwealth haven't crossed paths while Lance has been out forging alliances? </p><p>Even if Lance doesn't have some sort of alliance with the CRM that could go sideways, it's a little impossible to believe that the CRM's helicopters haven't caught sight of the Commonwealth or its militia. </p><p>And, if by some miracle, the Commonwealth has stayed off their radar, there's another more obvious Civic Republic Military connection to "TWD" who should know about the Commonwealth by now: Jadis (Pollyanna McIntosh).</p><div type="image" title="Jadis/Anne TWD World Beyond 209" height="3000" width="4500" msid="94767714" hostid="261" sizebytes="490636"></div><p>It would be short-sighted of Jadis, as a leader of the CRM, to not be keeping tabs on Daryl's people after leaving them. She knew what they were capable of, after all. </p><p>It would make more sense that Jadis, who used to date Father Gabriel, was keeping some sort of tabs on or a spy within Daryl's extended group and learned of the existence of the Commonwealth through them.</p><h2><strong>An interaction or showdown between the Commonwealth and CRM could help seamlessly set up the show's future spin-offs</strong></h2><div type="image" title="TWD Lance CRM" height="600" width="1200" msid="94767716" hostid="261" sizebytes="59608"></div><p>It was always a belief that the end of "TWD" was going to set up the long-fabled Rick Grimes movie. Now, <a href="https://www.insider.com/andrew-lincoln-danai-gurira-rick-michonne-walking-dead-show-2022-7">that it's becoming a show</a> — one of <a href="https://www.insider.com/walking-dead-spinoff-shows">three upcoming shows centered around "TWD" characters</a> — "The Walking Dead" has to set up these series somehow, right?</p><p>Bringing in the CRM, would be a clever and easy way to wrap up some loose ends while setting up the future of "TWD" universe.</p><p>How? </p><p>I've long postulated that it would be awesome to see some sort of <a href="https://www.insider.com/the-walking-dead-crm-commonwealth-war-theory">war break out between the Commonwealth and CRM before "TWD" ends</a>. Otherwise, why dress the Civic Republic Military and Commonwealth armies in opposite colors?</p><div type="image" title="TWD Jadis vs Mercer" height="600" width="1200" msid="94767718" hostid="261" sizebytes="65380"></div><p>I'm partially hoping the CRM comes in guns blazing on the final two episodes of "TWD" and takes over the Commonwealth after someone hears a commotion from the recent outburst that resulted in <a href="https://www.insider.com/the-walking-dead-does-sebastian-die-2022-10">Sebastian's death</a>. How amazing would it be if Daryl and the Commonwealth were so caught up in their own squabble only for the CRM to blindside them both and turn everything topsy-turvey?</p><p>Maybe the CRM come in and kidnap a bunch of people, including Maggie's son, Hershel, and Negan's wife, Annie, setting up their spin-off, "TWD: Dead City," <a href="https://www.insider.com/the-walking-dead-maggie-negan-spinoff-first-photos-2022-10">premiering next spring</a>. Maybe this is how Daryl mysteriously gets to his spin-off that will send him to France. Maybe someone smart knows they need to get Daryl out of the way.</p><div type="image" title="TWD 1119 Daryl" height="3001" width="4500" msid="94767720" hostid="261" sizebytes="1111990"></div><p>Honestly, it's beyond me how AMC has three main "TWD" shows (don't forget "Fear: TWD") and there haven't been crossovers to the main show in years. If there isn't a CRM connection to "The Walking Dead" by the show's end, it will have made "World Beyond" and the many nuggets about that group over the years on "Fear" look pointless. "World Beyond" star Nico Tortorella previously <a href="https://www.insider.com/the-walking-dead-world-beyond-nico-tortorella-knows-rick-grimes-location">teased to Insider that the show was meant to lead</a> into Rick's "TWD" movie.</p><p>What better way to tie the shows together and help tease Rick's return in an eventual spin-off by bringing everything back into the fold?</p><p>Do you want to see the CRM make an appearance on "TWD" before it ends? Do you have a prediction for how the show will end? Let me know your thoughts on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/KirstenAcuna">@KirstenAcuna</a> or email me at kacuna@insider.com. </p><p>You can <a href="https://insider.com/category/the-walking-dead">follow along with our "TWD" coverage here</a>.</p>

'The Walking Dead' has an opportunity right now to connect its current storyline with Rick's disappearance

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="6358378" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="amc">AMC</keyword>'s third "Walking Dead" series, "<keyword id="952399" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="60" keywordseo="The-Walking-Dead">The Walking Dead</keyword>: World Beyond," premieres October 4.</li><li>It's by no means bad, but it's not terribly good either. </li><li>The show follows two sisters who leave the comfort of their cozy community in search of their scientist father.</li><li>It's not clear what the point is for this limited-two season series other than a potential bridge to fill time until the long-awaited Rick Grimes movie comes.</li></ul><p>It's pretty obvious why "<a href="https://insider.com/category/the-walking-dead-world-beyond">The Walking Dead: World Beyond</a>" is just a limited two-season series.</p><p>It's not fantastic.</p><p>Insider has previewed the first two episodes of the new "<a href="https://insider.com/category/the-walking-dead">Walking Dead</a>" spinoff. Though it's not terrible, it's difficult to see why this series, centered around teens growing up in the zombie apocalypse, needed to be a full show.</p><p>That's not easy to say. I've been invested in this universe since 2010 and a fan of the flagship more and more in recent years when it did the impossible and <a href="https://www.insider.com/the-walking-dead-dante-whisperer-siddiq-2019-11">carried on successfully without its protagonist</a>.</p><p>And while there are some interesting characters on "World Beyond," I'd be lying if I didn't say this new show feels like a placeholder until the first <a href="https://www.insider.com/robert-kirkman-andrew-lincoln-working-on-walking-dead-movies">Rick Grimes movie(s)</a> comes along at some point.</p><h2><strong>What you need to know: The show takes place 10 years into the zombie apocalypse and follows the first generation of kids growing up in this 'new normal'</strong></h2><div type="image" title="twdwb 101 hope iris" height="2000" width="3000" msid="78227385" hostid="261"></div><p>The show follows sisters Iris (Aliyah Royale) and Hope (Alexa Mansour) who have never known life beyond the walls of their Campus Colony community. It's one of three communities that make up the Civic Republic Military (CRM), the mysterious group that carried Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) away from "TWD" in 2018 on a helicopter with their logo.</p><p>We learn Iris and Hope's father is an important scientist doing secret work for the CRM in an undisclosed location. When he gets a message to the girls that his life may be in danger, they decide to take matters into their own hands by venturing out into the unknown to find him along with two others, Elton (Nicolas Cantu) and Silas (Hal Cumpston).</p><h2><strong>Why you should even care: This show will likely lead directly into the Rick Grimes film(s). Otherwise, Nico Tortorella is the best part of the series.</strong></h2><p><strong><div type="image" title="twdwb 101 elizabeth" height="1666" width="2500" msid="78227389" hostid="261"></div></strong></p><p>Let's get real. You're not watching this show for the four lead kids. You're not watching it for Julia Ormond's mysterious, and possibly shady, leader Elizabeth (no matter how much you may enjoy her performance on the premiere).</p><p>You're probably watching this show because the characters wear the symbol that was seen on the helicopter that took Rick on season nine of "TWD." It's been months since "TWD" fans have received any sort of hint at what happened to Rick and we're hungry for any little carrot AMC wants to dangle. </p><p>Don't plan on hearing Grimes' name here (yet anyway). But since the show has a limited two-year run, it seems safe to presume the show will lead into the trilogy that was first announced back in November 2018. (That's what one of the stars <a href="https://www.insider.com/the-walking-dead-world-beyond-nico-tortorella-knows-rick-grimes-location">teased to me last November when I visited the set of "World Beyond."</a>)</p><div type="image" title="rick grimes helicopter felix" height="600" width="1200" msid="78227390" hostid="261"></div><p>When you're not impatiently waiting for anything that may tell us more about the CRM, "Younger" star Nico Tortorella is the stand-out here. After originally auditioning for a lead role on "Fear TWD," Tortorella finally gets to shine as Felix, the head of security detail at the Campus Colony, who sets out in search of the girls he considers family when he notices they've gone after their father.</p><p>The show's use of flashbacks sets this show apart from the previous two "TWD" series. So far, each episode moves between the past and present for different characters, an easily digestible format that fans of "Lost" will recognize. </p><h2><strong>Overall: 'World Beyond' feels like 'TWD' homework fans need to complete in preparation for the Rick Grimes movie</strong></h2><div type="image" title="twdwb 102" height="1665" width="2500" msid="78227391" hostid="261"></div><p>We're now three shows into "The Walking Dead Universe" and it's easy to wonder if AMC's apocalyptic world is beginning to feel too drawn-out without enough new and interesting material.</p><p>On the first two episodes of "World Beyond," we watch teens stumble and struggle to kill zombies. I understand that these teens are facing the dead for the first time, but a decade into this universe, fans have seen this happen before — we don't need to be told the basics of killing a zombie.</p><p>After "TWD" and "Fear TWD," AMC should give fans something different. No one wants to watch something just to discover clues about an off-screen character's whereabouts.</p><p>At this point, the only way this show will make a statement is if it pulls a "Rogue One" by the end of its two seasons and kills off its entire cast for some greater good. The first two episodes set up this potential end from the start. The group discusses the importance of making their lives mean something. The leader of the mission, Iris, ominously says she doesn't know if their mission will even succeed. </p><p>If they all die by the series' end, but it means they miraculously bring us to Rick Grimes, that alone may make getting through the next two seasons of this show worth it. Time will tell.</p><p>"The Walking Dead: World Beyond" premieres Sunday, October 4 at 10 p.m. after the season 10 finale of "TWD." You can watch a trailer below.</p><h2><strong>Grade: C</strong></h2><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/LpHpwO1E70A" frameborder="0"></iframe>

The only reason 'The Walking Dead' fans should watch the new spinoff is to learn more about the mysterious group that took Rick Grimes

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Some "<keyword id="952399" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="60" keywordseo="The-Walking-Dead">The Walking Dead</keyword>" fans thought Andrew Lincoln may appear on the "<keyword id="1551743" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="TWD">TWD</keyword>: World Beyond" season one finale.</li><li>Lincoln's name appeared in a now deleted casting list on IMDB for the season one finale. </li><li>The name was removed after Insider reached out to <keyword id="6358378" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="amc">AMC</keyword>, which airs "TWD" series.</li><li>An AMC representative confirmed to Insider the listing was removed as it was "not accurate."</li></ul><p>Some "<a href="https://insider.com/category/the-walking-dead">The Walking Dead</a>" fans are wondering if Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) is making a special appearance on spinoff series "<a href="https://insider.com/category/the-walking-dead-world-beyond">TWD: World Beyond</a>" after the actor's name appeared in the credits for an upcoming episode on IMDB. </p><p>That isn't the case. </p><p>Friday, an AMC representative confirmed to Insider the listing was inaccurate and that Lincoln will not appear on "TWDWB" finale.</p><p>Lincoln left the "The Walking Dead" flagship show in 2018. His character, Rick, was hauled off in one of the Civic Republic Military's helicopters to an unknown location. He hasn't been seen since, but is expected to appear in some upcoming "TWD" movies. </p><p>"TWDWB," which takes place roughly around a similar timeline to "TWD," follows a group of teens as they travel from Nebraska to New York in search of the Civic Republic headquarters.</p><p>If you missed this fleeting moment of excitement in "TWD" universe this week, we'll break it down for you. </p><h2><strong>Fans noticed Andrew Lincoln's name listed in the credits for "TWDWB" season one finale earlier this week.</strong></h2><p><strong><div type="image" title="rick walking dead world beyond" height="1062" width="1318" msid="78963067" hostid="261"></div></strong></p><p>Fans started noticing the IMDB listing on Wednesday and began speculating about Lincoln's potential "TWD" universe return on social media. </p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">—Brooke Poulin  (@BrookePoulin) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1321705819809828865?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 29, 2020</a></blockquote><blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">—  (@veeggeta) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1321554073443692544?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 28, 2020</a></blockquote><blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">—Derek ‍♂️  (@twdecastro) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1321549102039982080?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 28, 2020</a></blockquote><blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">—yen in the club  (@daiIychandler) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1321785546470019072?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 29, 2020</a></blockquote><p>Even if it wasn't a new appearance, some considered we may get a flashback sequence with Rick.</p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">—Cherié Summers  (@cheriesummers18) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1321933742735347720?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 29, 2020</a></blockquote><h2><strong>Some fans believed there was credence to the theory because of a social media comment from a "TWDWB" star. </strong></h2><p>Adding fuel to the fire, was a previous social media comment from "TWDWB" star Nico Tortorella.</p><p>While responding to fans on Instagram during the show's premiere on October 4, Tortorella teased they shared a scene with Lincoln.</p><p>When asked, "Who is your favorite person to have scenes with?" the actor said "Andrew Lincoln " with a wink emoji. Fans pointed to that moment as potential proof the listing could be true.</p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">—Derek ‍♂️  (@twdecastro) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1312943378372325376?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 5, 2020</a></blockquote><p>When Tortorella was asked by another fan if there was a character they hoped for a crossover with, the actor responded, "I'm waiting for the Rick/Felix superhero duo."</p><div type="image" title="nico tortorella andrew lincoln" height="798" width="805" msid="78963068" hostid="261"></div><p>Tortorella previously told Insider from the set of "TWDWB" in Virginia that <a href="https://www.insider.com/the-walking-dead-world-beyond-nico-tortorella-knows-rick-grimes-location">they know exactly where Grimes was in the zombie apocalypse</a>. When we believed they were joking around, Tortorella <a href="https://soundcloud.com/not_kristen/nico-tortorella-knows-rick-grimes-location">pushed back saying they were serious</a>.</p><h2><strong>Insider learned Thursday Lincoln would not appear on "TWDWB" finale.</strong></h2><div type="image" title="walking dead rick 902" height="2183" width="3575" msid="78963069" hostid="261"></div><p>An individual with knowledge of the situation confirmed to Insider Lincoln does not appear on "TWDWB" finale on Thursday. The individual expressed concern fans would be disappointed if they expected to see Rick in the episode only for him to not appear. </p><p>At the time Insider reached out to AMC for comment Thursday, Lincoln's name was still visibly credited on IMDB. By late Thursday, the false credit was starting to spread around #TWDFamily community a little more. </p><h2><strong>By Friday, Lincoln's name was removed from the listing.</strong></h2><p>An AMC representative reached out to Insider on Friday morning with a brief note that the IMDB listing was updated as it was "not accurate."</p><h2><strong>How did the inaccurate listing get there?</strong></h2><p>It's actually quite simple for <a href="https://help.imdb.com/article/contribution/filmography-credits/adding-filmography-credits/GAB5B33MBLEG73CT#">anyone with an IMDB account and or IMDBpro account</a> to edit a listing on the site. There's a lengthy page of instructions on how anyone can do it on the site. </p><p>It's likely someone was trying to troll "TWD" fans by making them believe Lincoln would appear on the series. </p><h2><strong>It's a long shot that we'll ever see Lincoln on the spinoff at all.</strong></h2><div type="image" title="rick grimes the walking dead 902" height="2000" width="3000" msid="78963070" hostid="261"></div><p>When speaking with Insider in September about the state of "TWD" universe, "TWD" chief content officer, Scott Gimple, told Insider that while "TWDWB" serves as a bridge to the <a href="https://www.insider.com/rick-grimes-movie-script-hopeful-for-trilogy-2020-9">Rick Grimes' movie(s)</a>, he cautioned that fans shouldn't expect to see Rick anytime soon on the show.</p><p>"Rick is not going to be walking out from around the corner," Gimple told Insider. "This does start to sort of paint the world that Rick is somehow involved in."</p><p>A Rick appearance would probably help viewer perception of the series. Reviews for the show haven't exactly been glowing. It currently sits at <a href="https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the_walking_dead_world_beyond">38% on Rotten Tomatoes</a>. Insider's own review referred to "TWDWB" as "<a href="https://www.insider.com/the-walking-dead-world-beyond-review">a placeholder until the first Rick Grimes movie(s).</a>"</p><p>Rick could always make an appearance on the next season of the two-season limited series. After all, it seems likely that the current group of survivors are on their way to wherever Rick is being held.</p><p>"The Walking Dead: World Beyond" airs on AMC Sundays at 10 p.m. You can <a href="https://www.insider.com/category/the-walking-dead">follow along with our "TWD" coverage here</a>.</p>

'The Walking Dead' fans are convinced Rick may appear on 'TWDWB' finale. Sorry, he won't.

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Warning: There are spoilers ahead for "<keyword id="12130210" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="twd" source="Orion">TWD</keyword>: World Beyond" series finale.</li><li>The show's end feels like more a season cliffhanger than a finale.</li></ul><p>In 2015, before "<a href="https://insider.com/category/fear-twd">Fear TWD</a>" launched on AMC, creator Robert Kirkman <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/robert-kirkman-explains-why-we-may-never-learn-how-the-walking-dead-started-2015-8">said in the show's press notes</a>, "If we were to do a companion to '<keyword id="11911240" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="the-walking-dead" source="Orion">The Walking Dead</keyword>' and it was about a bunch of scientists that were working to find the cure and finding out the origins, that would bore me to tears."</p><p>Fast-forward five years later, and that's partially what AMC did with spin-off, "<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/reviews/out?u=https%3A%2F%2Ftv.apple.com%2Fus%2Fepisode%2Fbrave%2Fumc.cmc.d6rynpxwd7klotbni0ddl78i" rel="nofollow sponsored">The Walking Dead: World Beyond</a>."</p><p>The limited series wrapped its 20-episode run Sunday night and by the end we were left with a group of scientists going into hiding to continue their work to save the world. Though they weren't necessarily trying to find a cure to turn people back into humans, they were (and are still) trying to find a way to eradicate the dead.</p><p>Like many "TWD" fans, I had a really tough time getting through the first season of "TWDWB." It <a href="https://www.insider.com/the-walking-dead-world-beyond-review">was painfully slow</a> paced with uninteresting teens who were apocalypse noobs. After a decade of "TWD," fans didn't want to see what they had seen twice before with a new cohort. But I stuck it through because I was given the impression I needed to watch this show as a pre-requisite to whatever Rick Grimes movie was eventually coming.</p><p>By the end of season two, it wasn't as boring as Kirkman predicted, but the answers weren't as interesting or as mind-blowing as fans may have hoped for as the show honed in on the science of it all instead of exploring some of its more obvious and interesting plot points.</p><p>One of the biggest revelations by the show's end? Yeast is tested as a possible way to accelerate the dead's decomposition. Riveting.</p><h2><strong>'World Beyond' largely felt like a bait and switch at times in its first season, never fully exploring some of its most interesting characters and the Civic Republic. </strong></h2><div type="image" title="TWDWB season 1" height="2665" width="3997" msid="88122664" hostid="261"></div><p>Originally presented as a series following the first generation of kids who grew up in the zombie apocalypse (Hope, Iris, Silas, and Elton), ruled over by the mysterious Civic Republic Military (CRM) <a href="https://www.insider.com/walking-dead-why-rick-left-show-on-helicopter-2018-11">who took Rick from "TWD" in 2018</a>, the show set up certain expectations. </p><p>Fans likely thought we'd finally learn more about "<a href="https://ew.com/tv/2019/07/02/the-walking-dead-three-rings-rick-helicopter-group/">the three rings</a>" group, what happened to Rick, and the difference between getting <a href="https://www.insider.com/the-walking-dead-a-or-b-meaning">labeled an "A" or a "B"</a> by the CRM (a resolution which eventually came in a frustratingly tedious way, placing the impetus on viewers to draw their own conclusions).</p><p>You should never feel like you're doing homework watching a show, but that's often how you felt watching the series' first 10 episodes for any teases and hints about the CRM and Rick. The show doled these out in small doses or <a href="https://www.insider.com/the-walking-dead-world-beyond-104-end-credits-zombie-testing-explained">end-credits scenes</a>.</p><p>As a result, most fans were likely more interested in a Sparknotes version of "World Beyond" than watching it all the way through, something that simply told them what they needed to know from this show in order to understand everything else moving forward in the "TWD" universe. (I <a href="https://www.insider.com/the-walking-dead-who-are-helicopter-people-crm">painstakingly obliged for the show's first season</a>.)</p><p>When the show was following the shady CRM, it was at its best. The organized group, which ​​includes a <a href="https://www.insider.com/the-walking-dead-who-are-helicopter-people-crm">group of 200,000 survivors</a> and apparently the country's only operating helicopters, is much larger than the <a href="https://www.insider.com/the-walking-dead-who-are-commonwealth-soldiers">Commonwealth's 50,000 strong</a> who were introduced on "The Walking Dead." That reveal doesn't seem good for the survivors of the flagship show.</p><div type="image" title="TWD 101 Elizabeth and CRM" height="2670" width="4005" msid="88122665" hostid="261"></div><p>Elizabeth Kublek (Julia Ormond), one of the leaders of the CRM, came across as a cold unfeeling murderer who could easily off thousands without as much as blinking an eye. But, in a small moment in season one, we saw that while she was someone deeply committed to the CRM's mission as "the last light of the world," it secretly took a toll on her as she silently cried unattended. </p><p>Not only did she deal with the weight of choosing who lived and died in this world, but, as the show progressed, we learned she sacrificed a relationship with her daughter Jennifer/Huck (Annet Mahendru) by forcing her to carry out difficult missions as a spy.</p><div type="image" title="TWDWB 103 Elizabeth" height="2670" width="4005" msid="88122668" hostid="261"></div><p>Unfortunately, we didn't see much of Elizabeth, especially on the final season. She disappeared for much of season two when, the very good, Jadis (Pollyanna McIntosh) returned to the world of "TWD" to relieve Elizabeth of her duties.</p><p>Instead, the series was often bogged down by a search and rescue mission and mystery science experiments that were going on with the dead. </p><p>"World Beyond" tried (and mostly failed) to make us care about a new group of kids in its very slow-moving first season as they tried to find the CRM facility where Hope and Iris' father, Dr. Bennett, was being held (not against his will) to help with work on the zombie virus.</p><p>The majority of the second season involved some of the group still maneuvering their way to the CRM compound before figuring a way to escape with Dr. Bennett and a group of scientists because they realized the CRM was killing masses of people.</p><div type="image" title="TWDWB 207" height="2671" width="4005" msid="88122670" hostid="261"></div><p>In turn, "<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/reviews/out?u=https%3A%2F%2Ftv.apple.com%2Fus%2Fepisode%2Fbrave%2Fumc.cmc.d6rynpxwd7klotbni0ddl78i" rel="nofollow sponsored">World Beyond</a>" focused on side quests and adding more ancillary characters (a love interest for Iris and another potential one for Elton) while failing to dive deeper into some of its most interesting aspects.</p><p>Give us an episode from Elizabeth's point of view or the mystery Major General Beale who we never once saw, but apparently is in charge of the CRM. Who are these other people who live in the Civic Republic? Are they happily there or do they feel like prisoners? For a show about the Civic Republic, it only scratched the surface on who and what they are.</p><div type="image" title="TWDWB 210 Elizabeth" height="2670" width="4005" msid="88122672" hostid="261"></div><p>One of the most fascinating discoveries was learning how large the CRM was because it hinted at a possible impending showdown between "World Beyond" and "TWD" casts. How do you have two groups that large on the East coast unaware of each other's existence, especially when helicopters are involved?</p><p><a href="https://www.insider.com/the-walking-dead-crm-commonwealth-war-theory">I've said it before</a>, and I'll say it again, it would be brilliant to see the CRM and Commonwealth go to war over Rick. The two opposing sides already wear juxtaposing white and black suits, a detail I've long been convinced is on purpose. </p><h2><strong>The finale didn't feel like a series finale and it's unclear where it's going from here. Could these characters be back in a 'TWD' movie? Maybe. Do we want them there? Not really.</strong></h2><div type="image" title="TWDWB 210 Elton Iris Hope" height="2670" width="4005" msid="88122674" hostid="261"></div><p>"World Beyond"'s second season picked up with some stakes worth caring about. The CRM is casually killing thousands of people, supposedly for the good of the world and the small rag-tag team we've been following wants to put a stop to it, even though the majority of them are not the most equipped for the job. (They're no Carol and Daryl tag team. They're not even the B team on "TWD." But they have moxie.)</p><p>In some ways, the show suddenly felt like a heroic "Star Wars: Rogue One"-like story. There, all of the heroes sacrifice themselves in order to steal the Death Star plans. Here, the kids were trying to sabotage a different evil empire and they were willing to give their lives for humanity and science. </p><p>When Jadis started ruthlessly killing off some main characters as if she was the Darth Vader of the show, and started going after the kids, it was like a switch flipped on the series as she brought a life onto "World Beyond" that was desperately missing. She didn't force choke Dr. Belshaw, but the way Jadis tossed her into a room with a walker to die felt like something out of a Sith playbook.</p><p>Once I viewed the show like that, personally, I found myself wanting to watch the screeners for this season each week ahead of new ones of "Fear TWD," which has been airing its seventh season simultaneously. Surely, these kids were going to mess up, get caught by Jadis, and be killed and I needed to know when and if it was happening. (Spoiler: By some miracle they didn't! How disappointing.)</p><div type="image" title="TWDWB 208 pollyanna mcintosh" height="2670" width="4005" msid="88122676" hostid="261"></div><p>Despite the series delivering a far superior season than the first — It was kind of difficult to go anywhere but up. The <a href="https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the_walking_dead_world_beyond">first season is objectively bad</a>. — Sunday's episode felt like more of a season ender than a series finale. That was a bummer.</p><p>It failed to give answers to many lingering questions and culminated with so many unresolved stories that it was as if the show was canceled before it could get a third season renewal.</p><ol><li style="list-style-type: none;"><ol><li>Will Jadis and the CRM army find the Bennetts?</li><li>What happens to Elizabeth now that she's been stripped of her duties and sent to the mysterious health and welfare complex. Is that where Rick was sent years ago?</li><li>More importantly, where is Rick now?</li><li>Who is this mysterious General Beale who, apparently, is the real leader of the CRM?</li><li>Will Iris and Elton successfully warn the Portland crew about the CRM? (They seemingly arrive by the episode's end.)</li><li>Was this show supposed to set up an impending showdown between the CRM and Commonwealth?</li></ol></li></ol><p>Additionally, "World Beyond" delivered a five-minute coda, <a href="http://insider.com/twd-world-beyond-ending-explained">which I discuss at length here</a>, which opens up another world of possibilities. </p><div type="image" title="TWD World Beyond french characters" height="1080" width="1920" msid="88122678" hostid="261"></div><p>To be clear, "<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/reviews/out?u=https%3A%2F%2Ftv.apple.com%2Fus%2Fepisode%2Fbrave%2Fumc.cmc.d6rynpxwd7klotbni0ddl78i" rel="nofollow sponsored">World Beyond</a>" was always meant as a two-season show so it's a bit weird that it just ends abruptly.</p><p>It very much feels like many of these stories should continue in a "Walking Dead" movie or maybe next summer's <a href="https://www.insider.com/when-will-tales-of-the-walking-dead-premiere">"Tales of the Walking Dead" anthology spin-off</a>. Do I want them all to continue? No. At the least, Jadis feels like she could be a secondary antagonist in a Rick Grimes' film if she doesn't appear again on "TWD." Elizabeth and Felix are other strong characters who are worth revisiting.</p><p>"World Beyond" showrunner Matt Negrete and "TWD" universe chief Scott M. Gimple didn't really budge when asked what the series' finale means for the character's futures. </p><p>Negrete told me a point of "TWDWB" <a href="https://www.insider.com/twd-world-beyond-scott-m-gimple-matt-negrete-interview-2021-12">was being able to see these teens leave the nest and fly off in different directions</a>. Gimple simply told Insider he'd love for these characters to have a future, adding that there are some stories that "need to be told, specific to the movie."</p><p>That tells me that they either aren't completely sure when and where characters may return or they're holding things very close to the chest. For those who have been waiting for real answers for years, that's exhausting. And a bit worrisome.</p><h2><strong>'World Beyond' always felt like a placeholder for 'TWD' movie. But this could have been delivered in a tighter special or made-for-TV movie.</strong></h2><div type="image" title="twdwb 209 hope and iris" height="2671" width="4005" msid="88122679" hostid="261"></div><p>Unfortunately, "World Beyond's" main purpose seemed to serve as a filler until work could be done on the first <a href="https://www.insider.com/the-walking-dead-scott-gimple-rick-movie-twd-final-season-interview-2020-11">"TWD" movie</a>. </p><p>However, it's been three years and we still have nothing — no release date, production start date, not even a title — from AMC and its studio partner, Universal. (Of course, the pandemic didn't help there.)</p><p>Star Nico Tortorella, a stand-out actor on the series who played the Bennett's close ally, Felix, was one of the few to give a straight answer when asked about how this show fits into the larger "TWD" universe. They previously told Insider in 2019 that "World Beyond" served as a <a href="https://www.insider.com/the-walking-dead-world-beyond-nico-tortorella-knows-rick-grimes-location">bridge to the first "Walking Dead" movie</a>, something Gimple smiled at when I brought it up this past week. </p><p>It would have been perfect to have this show end and roll right into a film. Because that's not happening, it almost diminishes the value of "World Beyond" and its finale, which would be more exciting if we knew where we'd see these characters next.  </p><p>When we look back at "World Beyond," was it worth the watch? Eh.</p><p>Outside of a few interesting characters (Felix, his boyfriend Will, Jennifer, Jadis, and Elizabeth), I hate to say it, but, not really, not when we have <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/09/business/media/tv-shows-2020.html">more than 500-scripted TV shows</a> to choose from in the age of peak <keyword id="11898468" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="tv" source="Orion">TV</keyword>.</p><div type="image" title="TWDWB 110 Will and Felix" height="2000" width="3000" msid="88122680" hostid="261"></div><p>"World Beyond" could have been a few episodes, a special, or some "TWD" movie released on AMC+. But I guess you're not going to get as much advertisement play around one movie as you would around 20 episodes. </p><p>As AMC moves forward with more spin-offs in the next year, including <a href="https://www.insider.com/daryl-and-carol-walking-dead-spinoff-show">an untitled "Carol and Daryl" series</a> and <a href="https://www.insider.com/when-will-tales-of-the-walking-dead-premiere">"Tales of the Walking Dead" next summer</a>, let's hope the shows will feel more thoughtful in their execution to give fans topics and characters people really care about in this world.</p><p>If Sunday's announcement <a href="https://www.insider.com/kim-dickens-returning-to-fear-the-walking-dead">about Kim Dickens' return to "Fear TWD"</a> is any indication, I think AMC is starting to pay attention to what fans want to see more of on screen. That's a good sign. Otherwise, in the way Disney pushed out<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/reviews/out?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.wsj.com%2Farticles%2Fthe-dark-side-of-disneys-star-wars-bet-11575663914"> too many "Star Wars" films</a><a href="https://www.insider.com/star-wars-the-rise-of-skywalker-undoes-the-last-jedi-moments-2019-12"> back-to-back</a> until the company finally dialed back, I fear AMC may drive interest in "TWD" into the ground by producing too many spin-offs before we even see a Rick Grimes' movie. </p><p>They may have already started to do that.</p><p>You can<a href="https://www.insider.com/category/the-walking-dead"> follow along with our "TWD" coverage here</a>.</p>

'TWD: World Beyond' largely proved a point creator Robert Kirkman tried to make over 5 years ago about making numerous 'Walking Dead' spin-offs

<ul class="summary-list"></ul><p class="drop-cap">"T<a href="https://www.insider.com/category/the-walking-dead">he Walking Dead: World Beyond</a>" wrapped up its two-season limited series with a few deaths, <a href="http://insider.com/twd-world-beyond-ending-explained">a surprise cameo</a>, and many open-ended stories that hint we'll continue to see Felix, Hope, Iris, Jadis, Elizabeth, and more in another "<keyword id="12130210" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="twd" source="Orion">TWD</keyword>" series, or, perhaps, that elusive Rick Grimes' movie.</p><p>If anyone knows where they'll show up next, it's "TWD" universe chief, <a href="https://www.insider.com/category/scott-gimple">Scott M. Gimple</a>, but he's not ready to give too much away just yet.</p><p>Perhaps, busier than ever, Gimple is juggling a number of "<keyword id="11911240" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="the-walking-dead" source="Orion">The Walking Dead</keyword>"-related spin-offs.</p><p>"'Fear the Walking Dead' is still chugging along," Gimple told Insider as we caught up with him and "World Beyond" showrunner Matt Negrete over Zoom to discuss the series finale and what's next in the wide-ranging "TWD" world. "We're ramping up 'Tales [of the Walking Dead].' It's a lot and Matt is helping out."</p><p>Let's not forget there's also the untitled "<a href="https://www.insider.com/daryl-and-carol-walking-dead-spinoff-show">Carol and Daryl</a>" spin-off and the show that started it all, "The Walking Dead." Now in its 11th season, Gimple said filming on the juggernaut's final eight episodes is well underway.</p><p>As Gimple said, it's a lot.</p><p>But these days it sounds like he's used to moving from one "TWD" project to the next, recalling the breakneck speed at which he and Negrete had to work to get "World Beyond" off the ground. </p><p>"It was a series that was shot out of a cannon," Gimple said. "Matt and I had to move very, very, very quick on the pilot script and the pilot. There were a lot ideas that had been bouncing around. It was a very, very fast moving show. It was insane."</p><p>Now, that they made it to the end, it seems like there's little time to rejoice and reflect. There's simply more work to be done in the vast "TWDU." And some of that work will likely continue the stories of "World Beyond" characters and its mystery coda in various formats.</p><p>Will that include <a href="https://www.insider.com/the-walking-dead-scott-gimple-rick-movie-twd-final-season-interview-2020-11">the "TWD" movie</a>? It's something which Gimple can say very little about. But, instead of the usual dodging, you get the sense Gimple really wants to speak about the film more if he wasn't under close surveillance, acknowledging fans' frustration.</p><h2><strong>There were never plans to kill off more of the 'World Beyond' cast. They want to continue telling some of these stories, maybe in more than one place.</strong></h2><p><strong></strong></p><div type="image" title="TWDWB 210 Elton Iris Hope" height="2670" width="4005" msid="88115594" hostid="261"></div><p><strong>Insider: I'm going to start off with a bit of a long two-part question. I couldn't help but wonder while watching this season if the plan really was to always make 'World Beyond' two seasons or did you originally envision it with maybe one more?</strong></p><p><strong>I ask that because the way it ends, it doesn't feel like a series finale. It feels like there's more to come. And, I was honestly a bit shocked that so many people made it out alive by the end of the show. My original anticipation for the limited series was that you'd pull a 'Star Wars: Rogue One' and kill just about all of the characters off by the series finale to serve as a driving point forward. That wasn't the case. To recap, was a third season ever on the table and did you ever consider killing off most of the cast? </strong></p><p><strong>Negrete: </strong>I could never bring myself to kill the entire cast, honestly. I just feel like —</p><p><strong>Gimple:</strong> It was never the plan.</p><p><strong>Negrete: </strong>Exactly. Yeah, let's be clear about that. It was really about just telling these emotional stories about a group of teenagers who went from a place of total innocence to learning about the world and putting them on the path of who they're going to become. For me, it was more about finding this emotional closure at the end of the day and at the end of the series. We're seeing our birds sort of leave the nest and fly off in different directions. That says a lot about who they are and who they become.</p><p>In terms of just the story, yes, the CRM is out there, but this small group is never going to take down the entire CRM.<br />They're still existing within the universe. A few characters did die, obviously, but there's a lot more of them living and they're off having adventures of their own. For me, it's just about not necessarily knowing exactly how things end up, but knowing the path they're on. It's really about cementing that for the end of the series. After that, we'll see. </p><p><strong>Because of how the show ends, I expect we're going to see a majority of these characters again. Back in 2019 on the set of "World Beyond," Nico Tortorella, more or less, told me that the series was supposed to act <a href="https://www.insider.com/the-walking-dead-world-beyond-nico-tortorella-knows-rick-grimes-location">as sort of a bridge to the first "Walking Dead" movie</a>.</strong></p><p><strong>Is that what the takeaway should be from where the show ends, that we'll see these characters — Jadis, Elizabeth, Hope, Iris, Felix, and more — return in this movie we've been hearing about since 2018? What is their future in "The Walking Dead" universe?</strong></p><p><strong></strong></p><div type="image" title="TWDWB 110 Will and Felix" height="2000" width="3000" msid="88115596" hostid="261"></div><p><strong>Gimple: </strong>Each of the characters, we'd love to have a future. There's a lot of stories that, absolutely, we want to keep telling. There's some in there that just need to be told.</p><p>Specific to the movie, yeah, I think it's more about just telling these stories and we have a lot of different places to tell them. They all inhabit the same world. They all inhabit the same universe. What happens in one show, in some way or another, bleeds into the next one directly, indirectly, whatever. But to a degree, it's all one big story.</p><h2><strong>Noah Emmerich returned to film that surprise cameo at the end of 'World Beyond,' which is 'setting up a new story' in 'TWD' universe.</strong></h2><div type="image" title="TWD 106 Edwin Jenner" height="2995" width="4493" msid="88115597" hostid="261"></div><p><strong>I wasn't expecting that long of an end tag at the end of 'World Beyond' and with the return of Dr. Jenner! What can you both tell me about this bonus tag and these mystery characters? </strong></p><p><strong>When in "TWD" universe is this taking place? I noted that video of Dr. Jenner is from very early into the zombie apocalypse because of the mention of his wife being alive. I couldn't tell if this was going on at the same time as the "World Beyond" finale or if they were in France or in the United States? What are we supposed to gather from this scene and what is it setting up?</strong></p><p><strong>Gimple: </strong>Well, you know me. I'm definitely not telling you.</p><p><em>[laughter from Negrete and Insider]</em></p><p>I want you to use your imagination. I will say, there are little hints that we worked hard on set about. Those are dusty hard drives. If you compare the stamps on Jenner's video to his earlier video, they line up. [Editor's note: The stamps mostly line up, but eagle-eyed fans will notice the "World Beyond" tape places him in Zone 1 of Atlanta, while "TWD" video recordings place him in Zone 5 at the CDC.]</p><p>And then, these are two folks that are speaking French fluently. It doesn't seem like their second language.</p><p>The rest of it, people should theorize about it, talk about it, catch where we accidentally put tells. I will say it does bleed in, obviously. It's setting up a new story. Its connection to "World Beyond" isn't as direct. Again, it's one big story and it's the start of a new chapter of that story. I don't think people will expect, at all, what that chapter is from what they saw. So, we really hope to surprise people. It's the beginning of new things with a very obvious tip to the past.</p><p>Working with Noah was awesome because I was a fan that first year [of "TWD"]. I didn't work on the show those first six episodes. I watched every single one of them live and I loved Noah on the show. There are things he said that stuck with me. The series <a href="https://www.insider.com/walking-dead-season-7-premiere-title-2016-10">seven premiere is a bit of dialogue from Jenner</a>. I loved season one. It was thrilling to do.</p><p><strong>Negrete: </strong>I actually worked with Noah on "White Collar." I had seen him on "Walking Dead," worked with him on "White collar," and then to kind of bring it full circle it was very cool. </p><p><strong>I was wondering if you guys had brought him back to film new footage or if it was some unused stuff from season one.</strong></p><p><strong>Gimple: </strong>That is the biggest compliment in the world. Yeah. We made that, but it's awesome that you thought it could have been from season one. </p><p><strong>I know you guys go back into the archive sometimes. Were you always thinking of bringing Noah in or did you ever consider bringing anyone else in? I know people were hoping to see Andrew Lincoln, but Scott, you were very upfront with me last year and told me a while back <a href="https://www.insider.com/the-walking-dead-scott-gimple-rick-movie-twd-final-season-interview-2020-11">not to expect</a> to see him.</strong></p><p><strong>Gimple: </strong>God bless you for saying so because it still was kind of out there. You must've seen it. People were expecting it and I was really trying to point towards our conversation back in the day. It's crazy that it's back in the day now.</p><h2>Gimple says the walker seen at the end of 'World Beyond' is 'different.' The term 'variant cohorts' was not inspired by the pandemic.</h2><div type="image" title="TWD World Beyond 210 Jenner" height="1080" width="1920" msid="88115600" hostid="261"></div><p><strong>There's a mention of "variant cohorts." What does that mean? And why haven't we heard about that until now? I was wondering if COVID and the variant strains we've seen influenced the possibility of variant versions of the undead existing in "The Walking Dead" universe. I was recently watching some other films and shows in the zombie genre and was thinking about how it would be cool to see more aggressive or faster walkers in other countries or parts of the world.</strong></p><p><strong>Gimple: </strong>[Jenner] seems pretty intrigued that he's been told about something different going on. And then we see that walker, which is not super-powered, but different. I hope that people's imaginations are "activated on" to what that could mean and what we could see.</p><p>By no means is it like a tip to COVID. We're not giving a shout-out to COVID in any way. We have no interest in doing that. But he seems intrigued at some things he's heard from them, long ago, in fact.</p><div type="image" title="TWD World Beyond 210 zombie" height="1080" width="1920" msid="88115602" hostid="261"></div><p><strong>Matt, do you want to weigh in at all? I keep hoping you're going to respond first.<br /><br />Gimple [jokingly]: </strong>I'm all but cutting him off. I'm like a lawyer.</p><p><strong>Negrete: </strong>Yeah, I'll just say that there's a lot packed into those five minutes in terms of what Jenner is saying, in terms of what the two characters in the scene are saying to each other, [and] what one of the characters is doing.</p><p>The cool thing that I personally enjoy about that coda is just how much is packed into those five minutes and how much there is to kind of dissect and analyze and to theorize about. That's what I hope people kind of take from it. I hope they just kind of run with it. I'm curious to see what the various theories are that come out of it.</p><p><strong>You have to watch this at least twice because I noticed on AMC+, if you run it with the captions on, you can fully see Jenner's conversation that's going on in the background.</strong></p><p><strong>Negrete: </strong>Yeah, they fully captioned all of Jenner's dialogue there.</p><p><strong>Gimple: </strong>To tell you the truth. That's good. We wrote it. It's nice that it exists. </p><h2><strong>Gimple wishes he could tell us anything about the Rick Grimes'</strong><strong> movie, but cannot 'so that multiple people don't kill' him.</strong></h2><div type="image" title="twd 905 rick grimes" height="1668" width="2500" msid="88115603" hostid="261"></div><p><strong>Jadis references Rick on the finale to Jennifer, not by name, but in speaking about what it means to be an <a href="https://www.insider.com/walking-dead-a-or-b-what-does-it-mean-2018-11">A versus a B</a> [<a href="https://www.insider.com/the-walking-dead-a-or-b-meaning">You can read more on that here</a>.] Why mention Rick, if we're not going to see him? </strong></p><p><strong>Is this a reminder that he's still in this world and to not forget about him? Is he maybe where Elizabeth winds up by the episode's end down in the health and welfare complex?</strong></p><p><strong>Gimple: </strong>The last we saw of Jadis, she was with him. He turned out to be like one of the most important people in her life. And she made some kind of deal, as we remember. That's an episode that Matt and I wrote. She made a deal and he was involved in that deal. It is a part of her story and she's a part of his, but we shan't go more deeply into it than she did.</p><p><strong>I want to make sure I get a question in about this.</strong></p><p><strong> Where are we with the first "Walking Dead" movie? I presume it's still a trilogy. Is the script set? Do we have a production start date or a film release date? Is there anything that you can tell me? Now that we know when "TWD" will end and now that "W</strong><strong>orld Beyond" is over, I figure this is the next train that really needs to start leaving the station.</strong></p><p><strong>Gimple: </strong>Sadly, I cannot say much about it. I cannot reveal anything about it so that multiple people don't kill me. There's all sorts of people. How about this? I wish I could.</p><p><strong>The last time we spoke, you had said that it would be "<a href="https://www.insider.com/the-walking-dead-scott-gimple-rick-movie-twd-final-season-interview-2020-11">amazing</a>" and you were excited about the script. I needed to at least check in and see if I could get any update.</strong></p><p><strong>Gimple: </strong>I do regret — I know it's frustrating for folks and I wish it wasn't and I wish I could say something right now.</p><h2><strong>Gimple and Negrete share their thoughts on episodes rolling out a week early on AMC+. Gimple doesn't know how 'TWD' finale will air yet.</strong></h2><div type="image" title="TWDWB 210 Elizabeth" height="2670" width="4005" msid="88115605" hostid="261"></div><p><strong>The "World Beyond" finale aired a week early on AMC+. But all of us can't talk about it until it airs on <keyword id="11898468" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="tv" source="Orion">TV</keyword> a week later. By then a lot of the things are spoiled online. I wondered how you guys feel about the early rollout. </strong></p><p><strong>I get asked my thoughts and I'm like, "I'm sorry. I have to wait." What is that like for both of you? And is there a chance that we could see "TWD" series finale air on AMC+? I think of all the great TV finales — M*A*S*H*," "Sopranos," "Lost," and "Game of Thrones" and I couldn't imagine people watching something like "The Walking Dead" finale on streaming before it's on TV.</strong></p><p><strong>Gimple: </strong>You know, that sort of thing is totally not up to us. Even in my position, this is <keyword id="11911241" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="amc" source="Orion">AMC</keyword>'s stuff and I don't know what their plan is on that side of things. I'll just say that I'll be advocating for one approach and I would imagine you could probably guess which one it was.</p><p><strong>I think I'm advocating for the same, because it makes my job harder if the things are out there in the world.</strong></p><p><strong>Negrete: </strong>I understand that if people watch it early and they want to talk about it with other people that watched it early. I think that's great. It's what I would do if I was a huge fan of some other show and I had the opportunity to watch it early. I would just hope that those people are respectful with the spoilers and not kind of just putting them out there for people that don't necessarily want them. That's all I'll say about it. </p><p><strong>Gimple:</strong> It's hard because it's an emotional thing and people want to express themselves about it. And I don't even think they're like looking to spoil specifically as much as just be heard or not be alone with their emotions. It's a tough thing. It's a human thing.</p><p><strong>Negrete:</strong> Especially something like a series finale. Those are hugely emotional for the fans, regardless of how it ends. It's the ending of a huge chapter and fans are invested. I completely understand that that's a need to share this experience. It's not like we're all watching it live like the old days. The landscape has changed.</p><p><strong>Gimple:</strong> In a perfect world, we would show one version a week early and a totally different version [on TV].</p><h2><strong>Negrete, who started on 'The Walking Dead' in season four, isn't finished with 'TWD' universe just yet.</strong></h2><p><strong></strong></p><div type="image" title="TWD 916 Matt Negrete" height="2005" width="2671" msid="88115606" hostid="261"></div><p><strong>As I'm letting you both go, is there anything else that you both want to tease for the future of "TWD" universe? And Matt, are we going to see you back in another one of the shows or in the film world?</strong></p><p><strong>Negrete: </strong>I'll just say that I haven't left the universe quite yet. I'm still helping out with few things. In terms of parting words, I would love to just kind of shout out to everybody who worked on the series. I'm just so immensely proud of all the amazing work that everyone did, especially in terms of the second season, in the middle of a global pandemic. It's work that I'm really proud of and I want to thank the fans for watching and being so invested. I hope that after this series, everyone will have enjoyed the ride.</p><p><em>This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity. You can follow along <a href="https://www.insider.com/category/the-walking-dead">with our "TWD" coverage here</a>.</em></p>

'TWD: World Beyond' showrunner and universe chief on the show's finale, its surprise cameo, and what it all means for the rest of 'The Walking Dead' world

You Searched For "nico tortorella" and got 11 results

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