WhenThe Walking Dead: Daryl Dixonreturns for its third season, it will feel closer to another, slightly older, zombie horror franchise - oneThe Walking Deadhas plenty of history with.Daryl Dixonseason 2 endedwith Norman Reedus' titular protagonist and Melissa McBride’s Carol trudging through the Channel Tunnel on a trek from France to England in the vague hope that a route back to the United States will present itself at the other end. At least some of the action inDaryl Dixonseason 3, therefore, will take place on English soil.
Naturally, the switch from France to England represents new territory for the franchise.The Walking Dead’s zombie outbreakhas remained almost exclusively a North American affair since the AMC series began in 2010, with brief excursions south of the border inFear The Walking Deadand, of course, the French dominance ofDaryl Dixonseasons 1 and 2. Never before hasThe Walking Deadventured into the United Kingdom, althoughDaryl Dixondid reveal in season 2 that the island is faring far better than most countries post-apocalypse, courtesy of the armed forces taking swift and decisive action.
Daryl Dixon Season 3 Will Feel A Lot Like 28 Days Later
Daryl and Carol chasing zombies around England meansDaryl Dixonseason 3 could begin to feel a lot like28 Days Later, which is curious because Danny Boyle’s 2002 movie andThe Walking Deadalready share a considerable amount of DNA.28 Days Laterbegins with Cillian Murphy’s Jim waking up in hospital after falling into a coma, only to discover the zombie apocalypse started without him. Released in 2003, the first chapter ofThe Walking Deadbegins with Rick Grimes also waking up in hospital after falling into a coma, and also discovering the zombie apocalypse started without him.
Why The Walking Dead & 28 Days Later Have Such Similar Openings
Walking Dead and 28 Days Later begin in startlingly similar fashion, but Robert Kirkman has explained the parallels between Rick’s story and Jim’s.
Despite having undeniably similar starting points,The Walking Deadand28 Days Laterdiverge in very different ways thereafter, particularly in regard to their respective settings.28 Days Laterhas its famed London landmark scenes, followed by shots of endless English motorway, then the big mansion Jim’s group take shelter in.The Walking Dead’s dense forests, dusty roads, and American towns are a world away, giving the two stories distinctly unique flavors.
Robert Kirkman confirms the similarity betweenThe Walking Deadand28 Days Lateris a coincidence, and his first issue was written before seeing Danny Boyle’s movie (viaEW).
That will no longer be the case whenDaryl Dixonseason 3 crosses into England. The emergence of those same green countryside landscapes, the abandoned motorways, and perhaps even a London landmark or two, will immediately bringDaryl Dixoncloser to28 Days Laterin terms of style and visuals, reminding everyone of how similar the opening beats of both stories actually were. Sure enough,trailer footage forDaryl Dixonseason 3 reaffirms the comparisonby showing Daryl and Carol strolling past an iconic red London bus.
Not only does this mean the duo will travel as far as England’s capital - the same capital that provided the backdrop for28 Days Later’s most memorable moments - but28 Days Lateralso used the imagery of an abandoned red bus to highlight the zombie apocalypse’s devastating impact. PerhapsDaryl Dixonis leaning into the connection and intentionally nodding to Danny Boyle here, or maybe both England-based zombie stories decided a red bus would be the best way to say “welcome to London.” Whatever the case,Daryl Dixonwill struggle to avoid feeling like28 Days Laterin season 3.
Daryl Dixon Season 3 Will Have To Compete With Its Zombie Predecessor
28 Years Later Is Just The Beginning
The other reasoncomparisons betweenThe Walking Deadand28 Days Laterhave typically flown under the radar is the latter’s inactivity. The last entry in the franchise,28 Weeks Later, released in 2007 - a full three years beforeThe Walking Dead’s TV adaptation premiered and became a global sensation. Since then, the movie franchise has effectively been dead, leavingThe Walking Deadan open path to becoming undisputed champion of the zombie genre.
If any of 2025’s offerings is primed to do justice to the “zombies in London” concept, it’s28 Years Later.
That is no longer the case as far asDaryl Dixonseason 3 is concerned. While still too early in production for an exact release date to be set,Daryl Dixonwill return in 2025, which is the same year the long-awaited28 Years Laterwill land in theaters. Currently scheduled for release on June 20, there will only be a few months separating the two ifDaryl Dixonkeeps its traditional September premiere slot. For the first time in its history, therefore,The Walking Deadwill be directly competing with the horror franchise it copied, albeit accidentally, in the very beginning.
Quite amazingly, then, two of the biggest names within the zombie realm could be doing very similar things within a very similar timeframe in 2025. The likes of Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Jodie Comer could be roaming around post-apocalyptic London in28 Years Later, then Daryl and Carol will be following in their footsteps a mere three months down the line.
Despite fitting the description of a “zombie movie,“28 Days Later’s virus simply infects people with rage. They aren’t reanimated corpses in the way typical zombies are.
In that scenario, there can only ever be one winner. WhereasThe Walking Deadis just a tourist, distracting the Yeomen Guard and getting bridge names wrong,28 Years Laterwas born in the United Kingdom, molded by it. If any of 2025’s offerings is primed to do justice to the “zombies in London” concept, it’s28 Years Later.
It’s Probably A Good Thing Daryl Dixon Season 3 Is Moving To Spain
The saving grace forDaryl Dixonseason 3 is that England marks just a fleeting visit on a much bigger journey. Despite wanting to reach the United States,Daryl and Carol will, for reasons currently known, depart England and make their way south to Spain, and it is here thatDaryl Dixonwill be predominantly set during season 3. The spinoff will, presumably, spend just enough time in the United Kingdom to set up the season’s Spanish mission, perhaps visit Big Ben, and maybe even drop a few28 Days LaterEaster eggs before moving onto the next destination.
28 Years Latercan return to its usual British stomping ground without fear of an irksome younger sibling franchise biting at its heels again.
HadDaryl Dixonseason 3 moved permanently from France to England, the28 Days Latercomparison, as well as the impending release of28 Years Later, would have become a far bigger problem.The Walking Deadwould have risked coming across repetitive, derivative, and like it was foolishly trying to outdo a rival on home turf. Making matters worse forThe Walking Dead,28 Years Lateris just the first part in a planned trilogy, meaning the revived movie series will be sticking around.Daryl Dixonrelocating to England just as the United Kingdom’s premier zombie franchise is churning back into action would be a baffling move.
The Walking Dead Reveals One Country Survived The Zombie Outbreak, And It’s Huge For The Franchise
While most of the world fell to the zombie virus, The Walking Dead just confirmed one country survived, which could change the entire franchise.
By contrast, Spain keeps all sides happy.Daryl Dixonseason 3 gains a unique and novel settingthatThe Walking Deadhas never previously explored, but simultaneously avoids treading on a rival’s toes.28 Years Later, meanwhile, can return to its usual British stomping ground without fear of an irksome younger sibling franchise biting at its heels again. With that said, watchingThe Walking Dead: Daryl Dixonturn its attention to the U.K., however briefly, will still provide some fascinating insight after season 2’s claim that the island survived the zombie outbreak.
Sources:EW
The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon
In a post-apocalyptic France, the series follows Daryl Dixon as he navigates the complexities of a new landscape. Separated from his familiar world, Daryl faces unexpected challenges and forges new alliances while confronting the lingering threats of a walker-infested reality.
