The Walking Dead Boss Clarifies Franchise Future After Dead City Season 3

Image via AMC Published Aug 22, 2026, 10:31 AM EDT Matthew Rudoy is one of ScreenRant's Movie & TV News Editors. He covers the latest in movie & TV news, with a focus on major franchises like Star Wars, The Boys, and Game of Thrones, and also writes some features and reviews. He wrote lists for ScreenRant from 2017-2022, became a news writer in 2023, a senior staff writer in 2024, and an editor in 2025. Sign in to your ScreenRant account The future of The Walking Dead franchise has been clarified. From the original show to the many spinoffs, the post-apocalyptic franchise has continued to expand and been a major hit for AMC throughout the past 16 years. However, with The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon ending next year, no confirmed plans for The Walking Dead: Dead City beyond season 3, and no other announced series, there have been questions about whether this could be the end of the franchise. In an interview with The Direct at MultiCon 2026, The Walking Dead's Chief Content Officer, Scott M. Gimple, clarified that there are plans for the franchise to continue after Daryl Dixon season 4 and Dead City season 3, with "both shorter and ongoing things." He teased that "there are cool things in the works" and has had conversations within the last week about some of these projects. However, Gimple emphasized that, similar to Star Wars and the Marvel Cinematic Universe, there will not be quite as many shows, nor will they be rolled out as quickly. Check out his comments below: But will we see as many series? I'm not sure. You see it across Star Wars, you see it across Marvel. There's definitely going to be more series, both shorter things and ongoing things. But it'll probably be a bit... The rollout will be slightly slower. But more, definitely more. And there are cool things in the works. I had a lot of conversations, even this week, about that. But the urgency and the speed, like "Get out out, get it out, get it out." ... It's just a different time, but that time does allow us to get it right. Since the flagship's pilot episode first aired in 2010, there have been 11 seasons of The Walking Dead, eight of Fear the Walking Dead, two of World Beyond, one of Tales of the Walking Dead, one of The Ones Who Live, four of Daryl Dixon, and three of Dead City. This is the high level of volume and rollout that Gimple refers to, but the pace will be at least be partially dialed down in the coming years. As he alludes to, other major franchises like Star Wars and Marvel are also taking a slower and less high-volume approach. After releasing numerous live-action shows a year on Disney+, the only confirmed ones are Ahsoka season 2 for Star Wars and VisionQuest and Daredevil: Born Again season 3 for Marvel. After these releases, it is unknown what their live-action TV futures hold. For The Walking Dead, it has been frequently speculated that one of the next shows would be a crossover bringing characters from the various spinoffs and flagship back together, including Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln), Michonne (Danai Gurira), Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), Maggie Rhee (Lauren Cohan), Daryl Dixon (Norman Reedus), Carol Peletier (Melissa McBride). Gimple confirms that there is still interest in this concept and reaffirms that right now it is only "the middle of Walking Dead's life." Well... I still dream of it, and I will say we have all sorts of plans in play. It's just... It's a different time. I do not think it's the end of The Walking Dead on TV. No, that is definitely not happening. The Walking Dead is continuing to go. This is still, at the latest, the middle of Walking Dead's life. If not, we're still early in it. In the meantime, Dead City is continuing to release new season 3 episodes on a weekly basis. The new season sees Negan and Maggie largely working together and no longer at each other's throats in the ways they previously have been. Maggie's son, Hershel Rhee (Logan Kim), continues to be at the center of the New York City spinoff as well, while Raúl Castillo, Aimee Garcia, and Jimmi Simpson play new series regulars Luis, Renata, and Dillard. As for Daryl Dixon season 4, it is slated to premiere in 2027, although an exact release date has not been revealed yet. This will ensure The Walking Dead continues its streak of new seasons and episodes being released every year since the television franchise debuted in 2010. A potential Dead City season 4 and other potential shows being explored likely would not premiere until 2028 at this point. Release Date 2010 - 2022-00-00 Network AMC Showrunner Frank Darabont, Angela Kang, Scott M. Gimple, Glen Mazzara Cast Norman Reedus Daryl Dixon Melissa McBride Carol Peletier Directors David Boyd, Ernest R. Dickerson, Billy Gierhart, Guy Ferland, Laura Belsey, Jeffrey F. January, Michael Cudlitz, Sharat Raju, Alrick Riley, Michael Slovis, Michelle MacLaren, Rosemary Rodriguez, Seith Mann, Tricia Brock, Daisy von Scherler Mayer, Daniel Sackheim, Fred Toye, Gwyneth Horder-Payton, Jon Amiel, Kari Skogland, Kevin Dowling, Tawnia McKiernan, Larry Teng, Julius Ramsay Writers Channing Powell, David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick, Glen Mazzara, Jim Barnes, Vivian Tse, Robert Kirkman, Erik Mountain, Evan Reilly, Kevin Deiboldt, Julia Ruchman, Nicole Mirante-Matthews, Nichole Beattie, Eddie Guzelian, Geraldine Inoa, Magali Lozano, Curtis Gwinn, LaToya Morgan, Eli Jorne, Adam Fierro, Frank Renzulli, Ryan Coleman, Jack LoGiudice, Charles H. Eglee Franchise(s) The Walking Dead