The Walking Dead: Dead City season 2 is set to premiere in spring 2025, and the latest NYCC trailer proves that Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Lauren Cohan led TWD the spinoff is far from exhausting its narrative resources. After Maggie and Negan successfully rescue their son Hershel without having to go to war with the Croat, Negan chooses to stay behind and work for the Croat’s boss, Dama. With Season 2 expanded to 8 episodes after Season 6, it will be interesting to see how the latest circumstances will affect Maggie’s attempted truce with the man who killed her husband.
The end of The Walking Dead: Dead City the first season left the door open for many new stories, and anticipation has been growing among Undead fandom – especially after Those who live reunited Rick and Michonne, and more recently Daryl Dixon: The Book of Carol brought together everyone’s favorite best friend duo from the zombie apocalypse. The reunion between Maggie and Hershel, however, is marked by more tension than one might expect now that their son is in his rebellious adolescence. Furthermore, she must choose between saving Negan from his worst tendencies or reestablishing him as her enemy forever.
ScreenRant invited the stars of Dead City and Undead Universe Chief Content Officer Scott Gimple stopped by our media suite at New York Comic-Con 2024, where the trio teased what to expect from Season 2. Cohan gave insight into her directorial debut episode and Charles shared some of Perlie’s journey, while Gimple praised the new cast member and Sons of Anarchy legend Kim Coates.
The Walking Dead: Dead City Season 2 gives its characters more room to contemplate whether change is possible
“It’s a big theme of the season that I think we served really well and delicately in Season 2.”
Screen Rant: Scott, what led to the decision to expand The Walking Dead: Dead City Season 2 in 8 episodes instead of 6?
Scott Gimple: I’m going to look at Lauren because she was a big part of this. Lauren said the story demanded it.
Lauren Cohan: Lauren told the story to demand it, yes! The story would really benefit. It’s very, very difficult – as Scott can attest, and a lot of people who make shows can attest – to get everything in place and get the engines running to film a show, and then just do six episodes. It feels like you’re finishing just as you’re starting.
We had a lot of story to bring, a lot more characters to introduce and a lot more things to develop among the existing characters this year. So to have eight episodes to do that was really exciting. Yes, I fought hard for it.
Screen Rant: When we got to episode 4 of last season, I thought, “Wow, we’re getting there really fast.” So 8 episodes is fantastic. Lauren, how does the complexity of Maggie’s rivalry with Negan influence your overarching themes throughout season two?
Lauren Cohan: The themes of Season 2 that are tied to Negan, or involved in the Negan-Maggie dynamic, are really demanding that they both look at themselves and who they have been. If change is possible and how it is necessary to go through what was to get to what could be. It’s a big theme of the season that I think we serve very well and delicately in Season 2, and we’re all put in that tank of these thoughts. Each character is somewhat touched by this process.
Screen Rant: Gaius, how is Perlie’s journey evolving as he struggles with his lie about Negan? What new challenges does he face as he plays his role in New Babylon?
Caio Charles: Oh, my God. I think for me and my character, it’s really about how you maintain the facade of this world, but also work behind the scenes to do what needs to be done. Like I said before, we’re not great friends at the end of Season 1, but in Season 2 we find out that we have to work together. Well, it’s #complicated.
The conflict doesn’t end for Maggie, Negan and Herschel in The Walking Dead: Dead City, season two
“There are no particularly good influences for Maggie to lean on.”
Screen Rant: Scott, Negan seems to be getting back to his old self now that he’s working for the Lady. Will we see Negan’s old self impact Maggie’s decision to save him?
Scott Gimple: Wow. Yeah, I really shouldn’t say, but the way you put it… Wow, there you are. Audiences will see the old Negan; they will see it, and Maggie will be able to see it too, perhaps. And how would that affect you if you were Maggie? I’ll just say this.
Screen Rant: That’s a great answer. Lauren, Maggie and Hershel have a decade of unresolved issues. How will we see their relationship start to improve this season?
Lauren Cohan: I don’t know if we’ll see this start to heal or if we’ll see it be pressure-cooked and challenged. I think the greatest joy — I’ll say joy, because I like it to be relatable — is exploring this dynamic in detail.
I heard something the other day that I thought was really interesting; that between the ages of 7 and 16, children and teenagers are terribly rebellious and nothing our parents say can make sense. It is biologically necessary for us to leave our tribe and have children in a different tribe. One good thing a parent can say at this time is to know and appreciate that whatever they say or do will be wrong, but surround their children with good voices that can still help them in the right direction.
One of the big challenges this year is that there aren’t particularly good influences for Maggie to lean on, so she continues to be there for her son and learn what it means to be a father. I mean, it makes me so sad. But it ensures that biodiversity is the result, so go for it.
Screen Rant: Gaius, how will Perlie’s interactions with Negan in Season 2 give us insight into facets of Negan’s personality that the original characters may know about, but that your character isn’t already familiar with?
Gaius Charles: I don’t think I’ll actually have an interaction with him until later in the season, so for me, it’s more about figuring out how all the pieces fit together in the Maggie-Negan story, what it all means, and what are the consequences of that. It’s just another layer we have to deal with as we work to figure out this whole empire-building thing and what people will see in terms of what we’re going after – #methane.
It shines; the light bulb goes off for me. But at the same time, it just intensifies the plot. It intensifies the need to get methane and all that kind of stuff. There’s a war coming.
Scott Gimple and Dead City cast tease Kim Coates’ grand entrance into the world of The Walking Dead
“He interrogates everything and then lives fully.”
Screen Rant: Scott, Kim Coates is amazing, and I feel like he’s someone who should be there Undead previous.
Scott Gimple: I think Robert may have even mentioned him before for something. I know this isn’t the first time we’ve put his name in a Walking Dead context text. I mean, he’s larger than life. He’s amazing on screen. The stories I hear from the set are that it always surprises.
Lauren Cohan: He’s a gift. Kim does what you always want to do on set, which is, “Why are we saying this? What is it? Let me dissect this…” And then, “Great, yeah, let’s go.” He is an absolute dream to work with. He interrogates everything and then lives fully.
Screen Rant: We know your character’s name is Bruegel, and he’s the leader of one of the fiercest groups in New York. Can you tell us a little more about the character outside of that?
Scott Gimple: Oh, man. I mean, he’s hilarious. He is powerful. He is capricious. He’s scary. He has some incredible scenes with Caio.
Caio Charles: He brings a lot of lightness to the story. Yes, dangerous levity. I was thinking a dark irony because I binge-watched the entire original show over the last two years and loved watching it even more [like that]. But what I think makes our show special, especially this season, is that you get to see that levity and people calling each other out on each other’s bullshit. It’s just waves and wings – and Kim, of course, brings it. .
Scott Gimple: And he’s totally his. He’s heavy. He’s a villain, but he’s so unusual. There is no one else like him.
Lauren Cohan expands on the satisfaction she finds in The Walking Dead: Dead City Season 2 – in front of the camera and behind it
“You bring someone else to the table to start inspecting and then you realize there’s this whole domain that you haven’t looked at yet.”
Screen Rant: Lauren, you’ve described Season 2 as one of the most satisfying seasons of television you’ve ever been a part of. Can you give us a sense of what makes Maggie’s journey so compelling this time around?
Lauren Cohan: Yeah, I think it has a lot to do with this tension between Negan and I, both from a distance and when we’re close to each other, that’s something you always look forward to in your partnership and in the show or the story. We’ve kind of revealed the characters in new ways this year, which sets us up to continue the story if we’re lucky enough to do another season.
It’s like you bring someone else to the table to start inspecting and then you realize there’s this whole domain that you haven’t looked at yet. You realize the story can go on. I’m really excited about the immersion.
Screen Rant: You make your directorial debut with the second to last episode of this season. Can you share how getting behind the camera influenced your approach to Maggie as a character and collaboration with the cast, especially considering the charged nature of this season?
Lauren Cohan: Yes, that’s a great question. I think what really helped the direction [is that] I’ve been shadowing for a long time, and once I started shadowing, it made me a better actor. And the most fun part of directing is collaborating with department heads and having these sacred conversations with the other actors during scenes or interactions that Maggie wouldn’t necessarily have been a part of.
It was so unique for me because my skill set as an actor was, in some ways, much more applicable than I expected. Driving is a huge job, and there’s a lot to prepare for and consider, and there’s a ticking clock in the back of your mind that, thankfully, other people are helping you keep track of. But there’s a quiet hint of acting that’s so magical, and that’s possible in directing, too. I just realized it’s just one piece at a time.
My favorite part of everything was [thinking]“At this moment, what matters is my conversation with Caio about this moment in the character.” We get into this little silo, and at every juncture there are so many opportunities to do that. It’s all just a collection of silent moments if you keep going and just get through.
More about The Walking Dead: Dead City season 2
The Walking Dead: Dead City follows fan-favorite characters Maggie (Cohan) and Negan (Morgan) as they travel to a post-apocalyptic Manhattan long cut off from the mainland. The ruined city is filled with the dead and inhabitants who have made New York City their own world full of anarchy, danger, beauty and terror. In the second season, in the growing war for control of Manhattan, Maggie and Negan find themselves caught on opposite sides. As their paths intertwine, they realize that the way out for both is more complicated and harrowing than they ever imagined.
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Source: Rant Plus Screen