Norman Reedus on season 4

(This story contains spoilers for the season three finale of The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon“Solaz Del Mar.”)

After fifteen years in the trenches of the zombie apocalypse, Daryl Dixon approaching the end of the line. Fortunately for Walking death the fans, the character of Daryl Dixon and the series Daryl Dixon are two completely different things.

The finale of the third season of The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon has now come and gone, leaving just one more season of the Norman Reedus-starring spin-off of the flagship series. Does this mean we’re completely coming to the end of Daryl’s story? Almost certainly not, as there are plenty of other avenues where the fan-favorite crossbowman-slinger could appear, from existing shows like The Walking Dead: The Dead City to a number of projects not yet announced.

However, the imminent conclusion of This the character’s iteration weighs heavily on Reedus; While fans are busy processing the events of the season three finale, in which Daryl and Carol (Melissa McBride) saw their final attempt to return home literally go up in flames, Reedus himself is busy filming the final part of the series. Daryl Dixon the fourth season, now well underway in Spain.

“We’re on episode six of season four,” he says. The Hollywood Reporterspeaking after a whirlwind trip back from Spain, following a whirlwind night shoot. “We’re getting really, really close.”

In other words, it’s not time to break out the party hot dog box yet, because Daryl and Carol didn’t spend their last night in Spain, despite what they imagined for themselves as season three concluded Sunday night. But it’s time to start planning what condiments we’re going to use at a minimum. Below, Reedus speaks to THR on the journey of Daryl Dixonfrom the recently concluded season three to filming the soon-to-be-concluded season four.

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You are nearing the end. What does it do? Obviously we’re here to talk about the end of three, but it must feel surreal that you’re simultaneously close to the end of the series in real time.

Yeah. There’s a quote from David Bowie that goes something like, “What do you think your last words will be before you die?” » And he said they would say, “But, but, but!” » (Laughter.) And that’s kind of how I feel.

Is this going as you hoped? Does this surprise you, the final stretch?

You know, it’s different. This show has always coincided a bit with my life. With season four, Daryl is really going inside (himself), and so, I’m inside too. I’m in my head a lot, especially for the episode we’re currently filming. It fills my head with the future, past and present of this character.

There’s this moment in the season three finale where Daryl and Carol are talking, and Daryl talks about feeling the need to run away whenever he feels like home. I imagine it brings you closer in some way, having played Daryl for 15 years now.

It’s trippy. There are always more stories to tell, but this incarnation of what we do comes to a perfect conclusion. It’s about answering all these reasons and what it all means, and what did we do to get here? What mistakes did we make to get here? And what can we do to have a better life for ourselves? So it’s all very trippy, which is what we’re working on right now. I do a lot of internal fact-checking, as well as character-checking, and watching things happen around me that I didn’t expect.

That’s the beauty of the spin-off. Someone asked me recently: When I was doing the first season, would I have thought about what I was doing in the fourth season? And we just didn’t do it that way. There is no season in the future already written as we work on the premiere. It’s created organically as you go. I don’t even think South Park can do that. They see what is happening in the world and create from that. So I would hate to do this show any other way. We naturally come up with script ideas during filming.

This conversation you mention came from a last-minute insert that I (showrunner David Zabel and executive producer Jason Richman) had done in parallel. I knew part of where we might be heading in season four. And it felt like a bit of a precipice; the starting point for season four. We have stories to tell that we started in seasons one and two. For me and for Daryl, it was an important turning point, this conversation on the beach.

It’s juxtaposed with some glimpses of Daryl’s childhood that we see throughout the season, with flashbacks to Merle (Michael Rooker). and the abuse he suffered in his home of origin.

Yeah. There’s so much momentum in shows like these that it can often be difficult to find the space to slow down and think about that pre-apocalypse life.

But when you TO DO stop for this stuff, you can’t help but remember how difficult Daryl’s life has been from the very beginning. There was never a weak point for him. So him opening up in this way to Carol and thinking about her life in this way marks a huge step forward since we first met him in the Georgia woods.

It’s a major topic that we’re in right now, a major topic of what we’re filming. Especially the episode we’re doing right now.

Speaking of conversations between Daryl and Carol, there was one I really enjoyed earlier in the season: Daryl and Carol made it clear that they never hooked up. It’s good to have it in canon!

I have to turn it over to David Zabel for this. Because there was a time when some people could have written for the show and read Twitter, and then it was like they were writing For Twitter. I could sometimes spot these moments. But David, he is not part of this world. “I can do something different,” he said.

I just want to be sure…Daryl and Carol haven’t eaten the last box of hot dogs yet, have they?

RIGHT. We didn’t eat them.

Are Chekhov’s Hot Dogs still alive for the final season?

Yeah, but I hate these hot dogs. (Laughter.) I would vomit if I had to eat this. The can is dented too! There must be botulism in there.

Excellent premise for the next spin-off!

(Laughter.) It won’t be good when we open them.

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The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon the third season is now broadcast on AMC+.