The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon season 2 release updates, trailer, Carol return, and everything we know so far

It’s a wonderful time to be a fan of The Walking Dead Universe. The primary AMC series may be resting in peace, but its conclusion was only the beginning of a brand new chapter for the TWD Universe that has expanded beyond the locations of the original show. Thankfully, that new chapter has also given us plenty of opportunities to catch up with some old favorites.

Hot on the heels of The Walking Dead: Dead City‘s success, fellow spinoff The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon joined in on the fun. Yes, as suggested by its title, Norman Reedus returned to screens as Mr. Daryl Dixon himself, and yes, it has been a lot of fun.

The show has taken the apocalypse survivor to a place he has never been before: France. It has also presented him with a new mission to protect a young boy, Laurent, from the dangers that apocalyptic world poses and get him to the safety of “The Nest”. The show’s first season saw Daryl successfully complete that mission, but it also alluded to a lot more untold stories – including the return of another old favorite.

The question is: What does the future hold for the show, and will we be coming back to watch The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon season 2 in the near future?

Is The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon season 2 happening?

If you’re hoping to see more of Daryl Dixon’s adventures in France, you’ll be thrilled to know that, yes, AMC has renewed The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon for a second season. Both it and fellow spinoff Dead City were renewed for new seasons this summer, with production on Daryl Dixon season 2 already commencing prior to the first season’s conclusion.

The renewal of both comes as no surprise given that the TWD Universe chapters have been major successes for AMC and AMC+. Dead City went on to become the most successful original series for AMC+ before Daryl Dixon surpassed that record with its own debut run.

Another interesting development is that season 2 will have a subtitle devoted to another beloved TWD character. The show’s second season is titled The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon – The Book of Carol and we couldn’t love that more.

Melissa McBride will be a series regular in Daryl Dixon season 2

In what can only be described as the best news, longtime The Walking Dead cast member Melissa McBride will be reprising her role as Carol Peletier in Daryl Dixon season 2 in a series regular capacity. Norman Reedus made the announcement at New York Comic-Con, confirming that McBride will be an executive producer going forward as well.

The news was music to fans’ ears as The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon – The Book of Carol resurrects the original vision for the show as it was initially planned as a spinoff that would focus on both Daryl and Carol. McBride decided not to take part in the first season as, according to Jeffrey Dean Morgan, she “needed a break” but it’s simply fantastic to know that Carol will bringing the badassery back to the TWD Universe next season.

Daryl and Carol’s friendship was a major aspect of the original series and a beloved bond among fans. The fact that we’re going to get to see them on-screen together again, and in France, is just too exciting! We can’t wait to see what adventures await them in season 2.

The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon season 2 first look trailer

After the finale of Daryl Dixon, AMC released the first look trailer for the upcoming second season. As expected, it leans more on Carol and her desire to track down and find her longtime friend. It’s sure going to be an emotional outing given how important the pair’s relationship has been to the TWD Universe, and fans are no doubt ready to see them reunite.

From the teaser trailer, it looks like Carol is giving up hope on finding Daryl alive due to the amount of time that has passed since she last heard from him, but we know that won’t stop her from looking until she gets the answers she needs.

It’s also worth noting that she finds herself in a risky predicament when her vehicle is surrounded by walkers, only for them to get taken out by another entity. Could Daryl have found her first?

Whatever the case, all we can say is roll on season 2!

Has The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon season 2 release date been announced yet?

AMC has confirmed that The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon‘s second season will premiere in 2024, but they have not yet revealed its actual date. That said, there have been some positive updates that give us a good idea of when it could come out.

First things first, the show has not been impacted by either the WGA or the SAG-AFTRA strikes. Earlier this fall, it was revealed that AMC had struck an interim agreement with SAG-AFTRA that would allow both Daryl Dixon and upcoming Rick and Michonne spinoff The Ones Who Live to resume filming.

The season of Daryl Dixon that resumed filming was the second, as the first season has been completed for some time, so that means that production is already underway on season 2.

While The Ones That Live is set to premiere in February, fellow TWD spinoff Dead City has not yet commenced filming on season 2, so it’s likely that Daryl‘s second season could come out first. And with that, it’s likely that the show will return in either summer or early fall 2024 to bridge that TWD Universe gap.

The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon season 2 cast

Daryl Dixon introduced a host of new characters to the TWD Universe and we all fell in love with them pretty quickly. Surprisingly, for being a show set in the world of The Walking Dead, there weren’t as many major character deaths as you might think, so it would be fair to say that the vast majority of the characters should return in some capacity.

Speaking of returns, the major cast addition in season 2 will, of course, be Melissa McBride as she joins in a regular capacity after making two guest appearances in the first season.

As it stands, here are the cast and characters expected to be appear in season 2:

• Norman Reedus as Daryl Dixon
• Melissa McBride as Carol Peletier
• Clémence Poésy as Isabelle
• Louis Puech Scigliuzzi as Laurent
• Anne Charrier as Genet
• Eriq Ebouaney as Fallou
• Laika Blanc Francard as Sylvie
• Romain Levi as Codron

Obviously, the one actor from the main cast who isn’t expected to return is Adam Nagaitis as his character Quinn died in the season 1 finale when he helped Daryl find and rescue Isabelle and Laurent from danger.

With no word on whether the second season of Daryl Dixon could be its last, we wouldn’t be too surprised if we also see some more familiar TWD characters join the fray if Daryl and Carol find their way back from France.

How many The Walking Dead spinoffs are there?

There are currently five spinoffs of The Walking Dead. The original series ran for 11 seasons on AMC from 2010 to 2022. During that time, there were three offshoots.

The first is its most long-running spinoff, Fear The Walking Dead, a prequel and companion series that has run for eight seasons since 2015 and will conclude in November 2023. The second is The Walking Dead: World Beyond, a two-season miniseries designed to show us the apocalypse through a younger generation’s eyes, who grew up after the world fell. And the third is Tales of the Walking Dead; an anthology series that focuses on different characters’ perspectives of the apocalypse.

The next wave of spinoffs have been showcasing new stories for classic characters. Dead City focuses on Maggie and Negan in New York City, Daryl Dixon focuses on Daryl and Carol, while The Ones Who Live will look to tie up Rock and Michonne’s stories. The former two will return for second seasons, while the latter is set to unveil its first season in February 2024.