Season 11 of AMC’s The Walking Dead is set to drop on August 22. Already, viewers know they will be getting a bumper crop of episodes for the final installment but now, Norman Reedus has revealed more about what they can expect to see in the first 10 episodes.
AMC is planning to split Season 11 of The Walking Dead up into three parts. With 24 episodes in total, this likely means there will be eight episodes per part.
Now, Norman Reedus, who plays fan-favorite, Daryl Dixon, has announced that the entire first part and two extra episodes of part two will focus mainly on Maggie Rhee’s (Lauren Cohan) story.
Maggie has returned to The Walking Dead
Previously, on The Walking Dead, Maggie left to join Georgie’s (Jayne Atkinson) group in order to learn more about their way of doing things. It has been some time since then, but the character finally returned in Season 10.
Now, moving forward, her story will be explored more deeply, according to an interview Reedus did with Comic Book.
“We did the first 10 episodes kind of in one direction, and that involved Maggie’s story mostly, and us trying to deal with what’s going on with that as a group,” Reedus said.
He also explained Daryl’s role in regard to this storyline.
“[Daryl]’s protecting Maggie a lot. Maggie’s going through a big thing at the beginning of this season, he kind of takes it upon himself to keep an eye on her and be part of that journey.”
It was revealed in Season 10 that Maggie has been through a harrowing time of late. She is being pursued by a new antagonistic group called the Reapers and this storyline will be explored in greater detail in Season 11 of The Walking Dead — before taking a dramatic turn.
Expect the unexpected in Season 11 of The Walking Dead
While the first part of The Walking Dead will deal with Maggie’s story, Reedus revealed that it will morph into something entirely different.
“It’s kind of mind-blowing where we’re going,” Reedus explained. “…And then all of a sudden, we did a one-eighty, and now it’s kind of like Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory all of a sudden.”
While Reedus doesn’t explain exactly how or when this happens — or even what it is that changes it all, he does compare the first part of Season 11 to a “black and white western” that suddenly transforms into “a technicolor Willy Wonka film,” which will certainly pique the interest of fans as they count down the days until the return of The Walking Dead.
Season 11 of The Walking Dead will premiere on August 22 at 9/8c on AMC.