The Walking Dead Fans Stunned Series Is Still Going As Show Announces Fifth Spinoff

Social media users have expressed both shock and confusion at the fact The Walking Dead is still, for lack of a better description, alive.

After first arriving on our screens in 2010, The Walking Dead is currently in the process of wrapping up its eleventh and final season, which was delayed as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

Fans of the long-running show will no doubt know the end of the series doesn't necessarily mean the end of the stories, though, as the show has already branched out into a number of spinoffs including The Walking Dead: World Beyond and Fear The Walking Dead, as well as the upcoming Tales of the Walking Dead and an as-yet-untitled drama from flagship showrunner Angela Kang. 

It's certainly a lot of content to keep fans going, but why stop at four? On Monday, March 7, AMC announced a six-episode series order for a new spinoff, titled Isle of the Dead.

The series is set to star Lauren Cohan and Jeffrey Dean Morgan in their respective roles as Maggie and Negan, while longtime Walking Dead writer Eli Jorné will serve as showrunner.

Expected to debut in 2023, the series will be set in Manhattan, where Negan and Maggie spend their time exploring a post-apocalyptic New York City.

Dan McDermott, president of entertainment and AMC Studios for AMC Networks, described the announcement as a 'very big day for the expanding universe we are building around The Walking Dead'.

Per The Hollywood Reporter, he continued: 'It not only adds another compelling series to this collection, it extends our storytelling around two unforgettable characters fans have grown to love, hate or hate and then love in Maggie and Negan, brilliantly inhabited by Lauren and Jeffrey.

'It also lets us explore a corner of this universe located on the island of Manhattan, with an iconic skyline that takes on a very different meaning when viewed through the lens of a zombie apocalypse.'

Though the announcement of the new spinoff will no doubt be good news for invested fans of the show, some Twitter users made little effort to hide their surprise at the fact The Walking Dead is still around.

Responding to the news, one person wrote: 'Can't believe they're making a 5th spinoff of The Walking Dead. I dropped off this series a long time ago, and I honestly can't believe it's still going.'

Another simply asked: '….walking dead is still going?'

In spite of all the zombies involved, evidently there is still a lot of life left in the franchise – only time will tell how much longer it will be with us!

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Topics: The Walking Dead, Film and TV, Entertainment, Viral, Twitter

Emily Brown

Emily Brown is UNILAD Editorial Lead at LADbible Group. She first began delivering news when she was just 11 years old - with a paper route - before graduating with a BA Hons in English Language in the Media from Lancaster University. Emily joined UNILAD in 2018 to cover breaking news, trending stories and longer form features. She went on to become Community Desk Lead, commissioning and writing human interest stories from across the globe, before moving to the role of Editorial Lead. Emily now works alongside the UNILAD Editor to ensure the page delivers accurate, interesting and high quality content.