Norman Reedus Goes Full Western in New ‘The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon’ Season 3 Teaser

The Walking Dead has long had that Western feel, but the upcoming third season of The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon promises to double down on the vibe and take it to new heights. A brand-new teaser for the series, which returns to AMC on Sunday, September 7, really digs into those rough and tough themes, and revives the beloved Spaghetti Westerns of the past — just this time with zombies. With sounds reminiscent of the late great Ennio Morricone, the latest Daryl Dixon teaser sees Norman Reedus’ titular apocalypse survivor riding into town not on a horse but on his trusted motorcycle with his friend Carol (Melissa McBride) at his side. The next set of episodes will throw the beloved duo back into the action, where they’ll fight alongside a group of civilians who could certainly use the help of the out-of-towners.

During a recent chat with Collider’s Steve Weintraub, series creator, David Zabel, was more than happy to talk about the Western influences that pointed him and his fellow writer and producer, Jason Richman, in the right direction for Season 3. According to Zabel, the fifth episode is something straight out of a Sergio Leone movie, but added that there are plenty of ties to the genre all throughout the penultimate season.

“But even the elements of the story earlier on, they’re strangers in a strange town. Like, there’s lots of echoes of man with no name kind of movies, the Clint Eastwood movies, and they’re strangers in this strange sort of frontier town who gets sucked into the sort of the drama that’s going on there that parallels their own needs and goals. And so there were lots of themes and templates that we were inspired by that came from Westerns in general and specifically Spaghetti Westerns.”

The Beginning of the End

During the show’s panel at SDCC, in which Reedus, McBride, Zabel, Scott M. Gimple, and Greg Nicotero were in attendance, it was revealed that The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon was already renewed for a fourth season ahead of the Season 3 premiere. This exciting news was quickly followed up with the reveal that the fourth installment will serve as the grand finale for the series, which has been perhaps the most welcomed side story to come from the flagship series. While no further details have been announced at this time, considering that Daryl Dixon has been a globe-trotting journey for the titular character, we’d presume that the characters will find themselves in yet another country for the final set of episodes.