The Walking Dead franchise has spawned multiple shows, comic series, and video games, each of which has been fairly popular in its own way. The OG show, starring Andrew Lincoln, Norman Reedus, Melissa McBride, Lauren Cohan, and Danai Gurira in the lead, went on for 11 seasons, before concluding in 2022.
But did you know that the show was supposed to run for four more seasons with two characters taking the lead after the exit of Andrew Lincoln and Danai Gurira? Lincoln’s Rick Grimes left after season 8, and Gurira’s Michonne made her exit in 10. While Reedus’ Daryl Dixon took the lead after Grimes left to join the CRM, he too was going to make his way out of the TWD universe. At this time, Lauren Cohan’s Maggie and Jeffrey Dean Morgan’s Negan were supposed to take over.
The Walking Dead Series Was Originally Intended to Extend Till Season 15
Lauren Cohan joined The Walking Dead series as Maggie in Season 2 before becoming a full-fledged cast member in Season 3. Her relationship with Glenn, played by Steven Yeun, and her role as a leader of the Hilltop County saw Maggie become a fierce but loyal individual, who becomes riddled with grief after the death of her husband in Season 7.
It is at the same time that Jeffrey Dean Morgan‘s Negan makes his way over to the world of TWD. Though he starts off as an antagonist, with time, Negan becomes an ally and forms an unlikely bond with Maggie. And this is where these two characters would have come together to lead the show in the absence of its original leaders.
In a conversation with Buzzfeed, Cohan revealed how producer and writer Scott Gimple came to her with options for what they could do in the future, after the exit of Andrew Lincoln and Danai Gurira.
“Before I even went back to The Walking Dead at the end of Season 10, Scott Gimple had asked me about my interest in either coming back on the show or doing a different show.”
She further added:
“Originally what they ended up deciding to do was have me come back on the show and then have Jeff [Dean Morgan] and I ‘take over.’ At the time, Norman [Reedus] was going to leave, Andy [Lincoln] had already left, Danai [Gurira] had left. We were gonna go into Season 11 and do four more years with the show, with Jeff and I kind of remaining on The Walking Dead.”
Given the popularity of both Maggie and Negan, it would not have been difficult to continue with the show had the makers decided to go that way.
Lauren Cohan and Jeffrey Dean Morgan’s Come Together in Dead City
Ultimately, the creators and showrunners of The Walking Dead decided to end the original show after Season 11. But that did not mean it was the end of the road for Maggie or Negan. Soon after, the duo were back with a spin-off series, The Walking Dead: Dead City, with Cohan and Morgan’s characters leading the show.
Lauren revealed how she initially found out about Dead City and how exciting it was to start a whole new story at a new location.
“Eli Jorné, our showrunner, who had done some stuff on The Walking Dead in the time that I was gone, pitched me the outline for Dead City, and it was so cool and exciting.”
She also added:
“[It] sounded like a really good maturation of the characters and the story, and a different type of storytelling. It offered a deeper exploration of the core characters, which was really exciting, I think, for both Jeff and I.”
The Walking Dead: Dead City is available on AMC+.
