‘The Walking Dead’ universe chief discusses Rick’s connection to the new spinoff show ‘World Beyond’

• “The Walking Dead: World Beyond” premieres on AMC October 4 at 10 p.m.
• “TWD” chief content officer, Scott Gimple, tells Insider the show decided on this spinoff to do something different within the universe.
• Gimple says we’ll learn more about the helicopter people who took Rick Grimes on “World Beyond.”
• Gimple confirms it’s fair to say “World Beyond” will lead to the Rick Grimes’ movies, but the movies “are their own thing.”
• Don’t expect to see Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) appear on the show.
• Visit Insider’s homepage for more stories.

The third “TWD” series, “The Walking Dead: World Beyond,” debuts on AMC Sunday, October 4.

If you’ve seen any trailers or marketing for it, the series takes place 10 years into the zombie apocalypse and follows an entirely new group of teens as they leave their community in Omaha, Nebraska, for the first time. But it doesn’t really sell you on why you should care about this show and these people in “TWD” universe next.

If you’ve been following the fictional zombie apocalypse since 2010, you may be wondering why this is the show we’re getting instead of one centered around other popular characters like Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) or the recently announced anthology series that will look back at some previous characters. 

When asked that very question by Insider, “TWD” universe content chief officer Scott Gimple said, “The reason that we’re not doing those other shows you mentioned, or at least we’re not doing them right now, was to show a different corner of the apocalypse, a different corner of ‘The Walking Dead,’ and to have very different characters with very different experiences.”

“We’re going to be getting to the things that you mentioned before,” he added, not clarifying whether or not he was talking about the anthology series, a potential Negan spinoff, both, or something else entirely.

Maybe that explanation didn't knock your socks off. That's understandable because that's really not the most interesting thing about "World Beyond."

While on the set of the spinoff last November, star Nico Tortorella told Insider the show will lead into the highly-anticipated Rick Grimes' movies, starring actor Andrew Lincoln. That's something fans would probably like to know more about and would give people a big reason to tune into a limited two-season series.

So, during a wide-ranging conversation about "TWD" spinoffs, the pandemic's effect on the shows, and those Rick Grimes' movies, we asked Gimple to be straight with us about "World Beyond's" connection to Grimes, who left "TWD" in November 2018 in a mystery helicopter. 

'TWD: World Beyond' will tell fans more about the mystery helicopter group that took Rick Grimes

For the past two years, fans have been waiting for some sort of answer regarding Rick's (Lincoln) disappearance. Who does that helicopter belong to? Where did it take him? Why has he been missing for years on end? What did the symbol on the helicopter mean? (We now know the latter is the symbol of a group of communities called the Civic Republic Military aka the CRM).

At some point over the next two seasons of "World Beyond," that will change.

"We find out a lot about the people who ostensibly have the helicopter that Rick Grimes was ferried away on. You find out a lot about those people," said Gimple. 

On "World Beyond," we're introduced to a woman named Elizabeth Kublek (Julia Ormond) who has a leadership role in the CRM.

"We do not find out specifically about Rick Grimes and these people," Gimple said, tempering expectations. "But finding out about these people really does give an idea of the situation that Rick Grimes has found himself in."

Gimple confirms it is fair to say 'TWD: World Beyond' will lead to the Rick Grimes' films, but that doesn't mean you should expect to see him

"TWD: World Beyond" actor Nico Tortorella, who uses they/them pronouns, previously told Insider they joined the show after a two-hour phone conversation with Gimple and showrunner Matt Negrete in which they were told the point of the limited two-series season.

According to Tortorella, the show will serve, more or less, as a bridge between "World Beyond" and the upcoming "TWD" movie(s). Tortorella specifically said the limited series will lead into the first Rick Grimes' film.

"I think the show is leading us to the bigger picture of a connection to all three of the movies," Tortorella told Insider.

Gimple said he couldn't remember the details of the call. When Insider read Tortorella's above quote to Gimple and asked whether or not it was accurate to say the show will lead to the movies, Gimple said, "That's not an unfair statement at all."

Gimple then added, "But the movies are their own thing. This anthology ['World Beyond'] is a really big, really intense sort of world and situation. It isn't the only new mythology we're introducing in 'The Walking Dead' universe, but it's the first one."

"It absolutely relates to its story, but this is a different corner of even that mythology. So [they're] not wrong," Gimple said of Tortorella's read on "World Beyond." "It does feed into Rick's situation completely, but it's a big enough mythology that it isn't, you know, Rick is not going to be walking out from around the corner. This does start to sort of paint the world that Rick is somehow involved in."

In other words, no, Andrew Lincoln will likely not be appearing in the show.

"The Walking Dead: World Beyond" premieres Sunday, October 4 on AMC at 10 p.m. after "TWD" season 10 finale.

• Read more:
• 'The Walking Dead' universe chief says Robert Kirkman is working on the Rick Grimes' movie script and he's still hopeful for a trilogy
• 'The Walking Dead: World Beyond' star Nico Tortorella knows where Rick Grimes is and teases the spinoff will lead us toward the long-awaited movies
• Everything you need to know about 'The Walking Dead: World Beyond' cast and how they landed their roles on the show