The Walking Dead Has Now Set These 2 Major Characters Up For A Future Crossover

With multiple shows in the franchise and existing crossover characters, The Walking Dead has set up 2 major characters for a future spinoff crossover.Dead City’s Timeline Means A Walking Dead Crossover Can Only Happen Years After Rick’s Return

Dead City Takes Place Many Years After Rick & Michonne’s Return

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According to the timeline established in Dead City, the Maggie and Negan spinoff takes place at the farthest point in the timeline so far. Based on confirmation from Lauren Cohan, Maggie and Negan’s New York City adventure happens five years after the main show. This means many years have gone by since Michonne left in search of Rick. However, based on the timeline established in The Ones Who Live, this means Dead City also takes place years after the duo return to the Virginia communities.

Dead City also features new details that make it difficult for Maggie and Negan to appear any earlier in the franchise’s timeline. The spinoff establishes Maggie has moved the Hilltop to a factory in either New York or New Jersey, her community now being called the Bricks. This means that, by the time Rick and Michonne returned to Virginia, it’s possible she already departed with her people. Because of this timeline discrepancy, the probability of the characters from both spinoffs seeing each other before the events of Dead City are slim.

A Walking Dead Crossover Happening Pre-Dead City Would Create A Major Plot Hole

Maggie Would Have Seen Rick & Michonne Before She Went To New York City

A crossover between The Walking Dead spinoffs wouldn’t be able to happen prior to Dead City, as it would mean Maggie knows about Rick and Michonne’s return throughout the events of her and Negan’s journey. While Dead City season 2 could revise this to make it so she knew they came back prior to disbanding the Hilltop, it would be out of place for her not to have mentioned it in season 1. Her learning they came back also may have stopped her from venturing north, as the majority of her original survivor family would still be in Virginia.

If a crossover happened before the events of Dead City, it would also be incomplete. Before Maggie found him in New Babylon, Negan had departed the Virginia communities with his wife, making an early reunion with characters like Rick and Michonne impossible. Given his presence as a major survivor in later seasons of The Walking Dead, it wouldn’t make sense for him to be sidelined for a potential crossover. Instead, it would make more sense for everyone’s adventures to converge after Dead City ends.

Why A Walking Dead Crossover Is Unlikely To Happen Anytime Soon

Major Characters Are Still Scattered All Over The World

The expansion of The Walking Dead universe into various spinoffs is just getting started, with Dead City season 2 expected to go into production later this year. Similarly, Daryl Dixon season 2 comes out this summer, with season 3 already confirmed to be in development. Daryl’s show in particular is implied to take place not much time after the end of the main show, with Carol possibly confirming Rick and Michonne came back before Daryl ended up in France. With season 3 of his series already confirmed, a reunion likely won’t be happening in the near future.

If a Walking Dead crossover does come to fruition, it seems it will most likely happen once the story of Dead City ends. This would likely be many years after the resolution of Daryl Dixon as well, providing the perfect opportunity for the franchise’s most prominent characters to come back together. While it’s unclear what threats they could face in a potential reunion, it would no doubt justify the end of the franchise’s ongoing shows. However, with just how many years apart Dead City and The Ones Who Live are, a crossover event is likely just as far away.