The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live showrunner explains how Jadis's long-planned arc informed the Rick and Michonne spin-off

EntertainmentTVSci-Fi ShowsThe Walking Dead: The Ones Who LiveThe Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live showrunner explains how Jadis’s long-planned arc informed the Rick and Michonne spin-offWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

EntertainmentTVSci-Fi ShowsThe Walking Dead: The Ones Who LiveThe Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live showrunner explains how Jadis’s long-planned arc informed the Rick and Michonne spin-offWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

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(Image credit: AMC)

Pollyanna McIntosh as Jadis in The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live

The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Liveshowrunner has opened up on how Jadis’s long-planned arc informed the spin-off – and revealed that the Civic Republic Military wasn’t ever actually supposed to be in it at all.

“She’s the reason Rick winds up where he does, and we envisioned her as a very big part of the story,” the franchise’s chief content officer Scott Gimple says of Pollyanna McIntosh’s complicated character inSFX magazine’s new issue, which featuresDune 2on the cover. “Jadis’s story was a long time in the works.”

Return to Arrakis for #DunePartTwo, in cinemas 1 March!The new issue of SFX hits shelves on Wednesday 21 February.@dunemovie @WarnerBrosUK @legendary pic.twitter.com/DPgYN3H6dPFebruary 16, 2024

Return to Arrakis for #DunePartTwo, in cinemas 1 March!The new issue of SFX hits shelves on Wednesday 21 February.@dunemovie @WarnerBrosUK @legendary pic.twitter.com/DPgYN3H6dPFebruary 16, 2024

Starring Danai Gurira and Andrew Lincoln, The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live picks up with fan favorites Rick and Michonne almost ten years after the former was whisked off in a mysterious helicopter in season 9. Turns out, over the last decade, Rick has been a “prisoner” of the CRM, the organization briefly introduced in Fear the Walking Dead, before being explored more fully in The Walking Dead: The World Beyond. The community – which is three-cities wide and almost entirely self-sufficient – believes secrecy is paramount and with that, bans its inhabitants from leaving without permission from the top brass.

Longtime fans will remember it was Jadis that got Rick on that chopper, so it’s hardly a surprise that there are serious tensions between the pair in the new series. Jadis embracing her more selfish, villainous side after years of learning to work with Rick and the gang, and even falling in love with Father Gabriel (Seth Gilliam), is unexpected to say the least. It’s even more curious, then, that it’s been in the pipeline for a while.

Not a subscriber to SFX? Thenhead on over here to get the latest issues sent directly to your home/device!

As for the CRM, Gimple says, “In some ways, that was initially planned to come out maybe after this. And to be, in some ways, different,” he adds, noting how the many delays in production shifted some ideas. “Timing got really twisted there. It was supposed to be another look at aspects of this; a smaller look, to tell you the truth.

“But with all the shows, I always look for those threads to connect. You never know how things will schedule, how things come together, and the stories go. What works, and what doesn’t. The CRM in this story, and everything that happens, is certainly part of that.”

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(Image credit: AMC)

Andrew Lincoln as Rick in The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live

The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live releases in the US on February 25 on AMC and AMC+. The above is just a snippet of our interview, available inthe latest issue of SFX magazine, which features Dune: Part Two on the cover and is available on newsstands from Wednesday, February 21.

For even more from SFX, sign up to ournewsletter, which delivers all the latest exclusives straight to your inbox.

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GAME REVIEWSMOVIE REVIEWSTV REVIEWS1Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension"2Arcs review: “A whole lot of game in a small package"3Path of Exile 2 review: “A stellar start to a thrilling and brutal dark adventure"4Indiana Jones and the Great Circle review: “The best adventure Indy has embarked on in over 30 years"5Marvel Rivals review: “So preoccupied with trying to be like Overwatch that it forgets to play to its own strengths"1Sonic the Hedgehog 3 review: “Keanu Reeves as Shadow is wasted whilst Jim Carrey steals the show"2Mufasa: The Lion King review – “It’s no Hakuna Matata but this Disney origin story is a class above the 2019 movie"3Kraven the Hunter review: “The insistence on an R-rating helps save this, with a decent helping of bloodthirsty action"4The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim review – “An uninspired expansion of the most iconic screen take on Tolkien"5Nightbitch review: “Amy Adams' disappointing dark comedy is all bark and no bite"1Doctor Who 2024 Christmas special review: “Ncuti Gatwa is as magnetic as ever in this delightful festive treat"2Secret Level review: “An uneven experience with serious highlights that ultimately make up for the misses"3Skeleton Crew review: “Perfectly captures the vibes of classic Star Wars with a swashbuckling twist"4Creature Commandos review: “James Gunn’s heartwarming, R-rated tale about super-monsters proves that the DCU is in good hands"5Cobra Kai season 6, part 2 review: “Returns to the sort of hard-hitting form that made it such a fan favorite in the first place”

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1Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension”

Nemesis board game models and tokens laid out on a board

1Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension”

1

Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension”

2Arcs review: “A whole lot of game in a small package”

2Arcs review: “A whole lot of game in a small package”

2

Arcs review: “A whole lot of game in a small package”

3Path of Exile 2 review: “A stellar start to a thrilling and brutal dark adventure”

3Path of Exile 2 review: “A stellar start to a thrilling and brutal dark adventure”

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4Indiana Jones and the Great Circle review: “The best adventure Indy has embarked on in over 30 years”

4Indiana Jones and the Great Circle review: “The best adventure Indy has embarked on in over 30 years”

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Indiana Jones and the Great Circle review: “The best adventure Indy has embarked on in over 30 years”

5Marvel Rivals review: “So preoccupied with trying to be like Overwatch that it forgets to play to its own strengths”

5Marvel Rivals review: “So preoccupied with trying to be like Overwatch that it forgets to play to its own strengths”

5

Marvel Rivals review: “So preoccupied with trying to be like Overwatch that it forgets to play to its own strengths”

1Sonic the Hedgehog 3 review: “Keanu Reeves as Shadow is wasted whilst Jim Carrey steals the show”

Shadow brandishes a gun in Sonic The Hedgehog 3

1Sonic the Hedgehog 3 review: “Keanu Reeves as Shadow is wasted whilst Jim Carrey steals the show”

1

Sonic the Hedgehog 3 review: “Keanu Reeves as Shadow is wasted whilst Jim Carrey steals the show”

2Mufasa: The Lion King review – “It’s no Hakuna Matata but this Disney origin story is a class above the 2019 movie”

2Mufasa: The Lion King review – “It’s no Hakuna Matata but this Disney origin story is a class above the 2019 movie”

2

Mufasa: The Lion King review – “It’s no Hakuna Matata but this Disney origin story is a class above the 2019 movie”

3Kraven the Hunter review: “The insistence on an R-rating helps save this, with a decent helping of bloodthirsty action”

3Kraven the Hunter review: “The insistence on an R-rating helps save this, with a decent helping of bloodthirsty action”

3

Kraven the Hunter review: “The insistence on an R-rating helps save this, with a decent helping of bloodthirsty action”

4The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim review – “An uninspired expansion of the most iconic screen take on Tolkien”

4The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim review – “An uninspired expansion of the most iconic screen take on Tolkien”

4

The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim review – “An uninspired expansion of the most iconic screen take on Tolkien”

5Nightbitch review: “Amy Adams' disappointing dark comedy is all bark and no bite”

5Nightbitch review: “Amy Adams' disappointing dark comedy is all bark and no bite”

5

Nightbitch review: “Amy Adams' disappointing dark comedy is all bark and no bite”

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Ncuti Gatwa as the Doctor and Nicola Coughlan as Joy in Doctor Who Christmas special Joy to the World

1Doctor Who 2024 Christmas special review: “Ncuti Gatwa is as magnetic as ever in this delightful festive treat”

1

Doctor Who 2024 Christmas special review: “Ncuti Gatwa is as magnetic as ever in this delightful festive treat”

2Secret Level review: “An uneven experience with serious highlights that ultimately make up for the misses”

2Secret Level review: “An uneven experience with serious highlights that ultimately make up for the misses”

2

Secret Level review: “An uneven experience with serious highlights that ultimately make up for the misses”

3Skeleton Crew review: “Perfectly captures the vibes of classic Star Wars with a swashbuckling twist”

3Skeleton Crew review: “Perfectly captures the vibes of classic Star Wars with a swashbuckling twist”

3

Skeleton Crew review: “Perfectly captures the vibes of classic Star Wars with a swashbuckling twist”

4Creature Commandos review: “James Gunn’s heartwarming, R-rated tale about super-monsters proves that the DCU is in good hands”

4Creature Commandos review: “James Gunn’s heartwarming, R-rated tale about super-monsters proves that the DCU is in good hands”

4

Creature Commandos review: “James Gunn’s heartwarming, R-rated tale about super-monsters proves that the DCU is in good hands”

5Cobra Kai season 6, part 2 review: “Returns to the sort of hard-hitting form that made it such a fan favorite in the first place”

5Cobra Kai season 6, part 2 review: “Returns to the sort of hard-hitting form that made it such a fan favorite in the first place”

5

Cobra Kai season 6, part 2 review: “Returns to the sort of hard-hitting form that made it such a fan favorite in the first place”

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