The Walking Dead cast shares memories of the series at the latest NYCC panel

Although the last eight episodes of the Walking DeadWith the final season of already airing, the cast took their final bittersweet bow at New York City Comic-Con this weekend. Moderated as always by talking death‘s Chris Hardwick, who made up the panel Living Dead Chief Content Officer Scott M. Gimple, Norman Reedus, Lauren Cohan, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Lauren Ridloff, Eleanor Matsuura, Michael James Shaw and Paola Lázaro.

First, fans in the audience got a special look at the first two minutes of the October 9 episode “A New Deal.” One particularly violent moment from Norman Reedus’ character, Daryl, was so well received by the crowd that both Hardwick and Reedus commented on it. (Reedus also noted that as Carol approached Daryl in the scene that preceded the violence, the room went completely still and still.)

“It all comes together,” the infamously withdrawn gimple said of recent episodes. (During the Q&A portion of the panel, one fan referred to his non-answers as “giimplisms,” which Hardwick vowed to steal.) What he promised was that all characters will reach their final form, just like Pokémon.

Of course, the end with spin-offs on the horizon isn’t really an end for some of the cast – and so the panel had some spin-off deals to attend to as well. In addition to the ongoing series Fear the walking deaththe limited series The Walking Dead: The World Beyond, and the anthology series Tales of the Walking Dead, There are three upcoming series in The Walking Dead universe. First up is the titled Maggie and Negan series currently filming in New Jersey The Walking Dead: Dead City. Fans were treated to some stills from the upcoming series, which showed Maggie in a bar wearing a new leather jacket. He also revealed that the series will premiere in April 2023.

Gimple didn’t have much to say about the Rick and Michonne spin-off, which was initially conceived as a feature film. But there have been updates on the Daryl Dixon spin-off, which is set and filmed in Paris, France. Reedus described the series as “epic in scope” and says France isn’t quite ready for what they want to do. “There was a lot of talking,” Reedus said, with a slight allusion Melissa McBride’s departure of the series. “Rest. It will be okay.” He also gave fans his own gimplism and promised “familiar faces.”

But since the main series is coming to an end and Gimple can’t tease anymore the much (without simply spoiling the various shows and the coming ending), the cast was given homework: they each brought a photo from their time filming the series to share with the group, as a starting point to get to grips with to remember their experiences.

Gimple was the first to share a photo. He selected a handwritten note he once left for a hotel laundry service after an early Danai Gurira scene in which she slashes open a particularly bloodied walking frame: “Please note: this is not real blood. I work for The Walking Dead.“As he recalls, the blood wasn’t even a by-product of his involvement in the scene; After he encouraged her to really try, she passed the fake blood to him by hugging him tightly and soiling the shirt, which he then had to give to a stranger to clean.

Reedus shared a sepia-toned photo of him and Michael Rooker, who played his character’s brother Merle Dixon, from the early days of the Walking Dead. Reedus spoke of being a fan of Rooker from the film Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer before forming a brotherhood with him the Walking Deadwhich got him thinking about how Rooker’s character helped him better define who Daryl should be.

Image: AMC

During the Q&A session, a fan asked how he felt creating a character that wasn’t from the comic book. Reedus said that this made him feel very free to take the character in any direction, even pushing that Daryl didn’t go Merle 2.0 at the time. “There was one plot that I was allowed to change,” he said. He wanted to find out what it would be like if Daryl were ashamed of his family. “Once [Merle’s] Outside of the picture it allowed Daryl to stand on his own two feet and be his own man.”

Cohan brought back a blurry image of the cast playing Head’s Up during dinner — the blurrier the better, as it meant they were having fun while the cast didn’t deliver farewell speeches at a “death dinner” traditionally held as a cast member was killed off the show and just messing around instead. Morgan’s photo – from a group selfie taken over lunch on Andrew Lincoln’s last day – similarly showed the camaraderie of the cast and crew.

“I chose this image because this is my fourth time seeing Norman,” Morgan said. “It shows you the friendliness of these people and the way they welcome you. I just think it sums up perfectly the hug these people gave me.

Ridloff and Matsuura, both of whom joined the show in Season 9, shared photos of their “little gang” in Matsuura’s group (aka Magna’s group) at various times this season. Matsuura brought one with her from the end of her freshman year when the remaining members of the group were excited to have made it to the season finale. “I don’t want to go,” she said. “I don’t want it to stop. I’m sure you all feel the same way.”

Finally self-proclaimed “Living Dead Baby” Shaw, who recently joined the show as Mercer (although you’re greeted by the roaring crowd never know he was only in last season) shared a photo of him in costume with a walker played by Greg Nicotero, the Walking Dead Executive producer, regular director and acclaimed make-up artist. “There are a lot of ‘Big Boys With Toys’ moments the Walking Deadand I feel like the best ones I’ve ever had was with Greg.” Shaw also dedicated his performance to his father, who passed away earlier this year, and spoke about how the cast and producers supported him.

At the end of the panel, Gimple answered a question about how the comic series ended and whether or not the Flash Forward would ever be dramatized in those final pages. “The way the comic ended was brilliant,” he said. “Robert [Kirkman] did it to all of us and I love that he did it. I think it’s great that I didn’t get a call about it. Because he’s ruined a lot of things for me over the years. I tell you that I want to go into this world.”

This isn’t just a good nugget to speculate on while fans wait and see how the Walking Dead will end and what happens next in the expanded universe, but it makes that ending less bittersweet. The show keeps coming back to life through spin-offs and new locations and various character arc sequels. There will be new photos to share. Goodbye just doesn’t feel like goodbye.