Upcoming The Walking Dead spinoff Daryl Dixon sees its titular character escorting a child through a zombie-infested, apocalyptic world populated by threats both undead and human–a concept which might sound all too familiar to anyone who enjoyed HBO’s recent The Last Of Us adaptation. Daryl Dixon executive producer Greg Nicotero has addressed the similarities in a new interview, promising that the spin off will have its differences from TLOU.
“We were already deep into production when The Last Of Us came out,” Nicotero told Entertainment Weekly in a recent interview. “I remember watching the first episode … and going, ‘Ummm… guys?'” He adds that he “enjoyed The Last of Us tremendously,” and that he doesn’t believe the shows are similar enough to be a concern, once the details are taken into considerations.
“It’s really a continuation of Daryl’s story,” Nicotero explains, citing the popular Walking Dead protagonist played by Norman Reedus since the show began in 2010. “He’s willing to deliver this kid, but that’s not his sole purpose. His purpose is he has people at home he has to get back to. He needs to get back to Judith, and Carol, and the people at the Commonwealth.”
“He kind of got hoodwinked into this detour to France. I think the idea that he connects with this kid feels a little like The Last of Us, but once you get into the journey, it doesn’t feel quite as similar to me. They’re different enough that you can enjoy both,” Nicotero says.
The concept for the Daryl-focused story has been around for around six years now, though the original concept would have seen him travelling somewhere in the United States. What has stayed the same is the focus on Daryl, and his interactions with other characters. “In every episode, he would come in contact with people that would change his life, and he would change their life,” Nicotero explains. “And that was where this whole show stemmed from. It was something that Norman was super passionate about… None of us were interested in doing it if it was just more of the same. Norman didn’t want to do that. I didn’t want to do that.”
The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon is the sixth TV show set in the Walking Dead universe, based on the comic series by Robert Kirkman and artist Tony Moore. The show is set to debut on September 10 on both AMC and AMC+.
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