The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live is returning to the original zombie variants of the franchise after they were changed in the previous spinoff.
The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live has introduced new zombie variants that are more aligned with their introduction, a return to form after the franchise’s previous spinoff. Zombie variants were first introduced during the post-credits scene of The Walking Dead: World Beyond, where a French scientist was shot and killed. However, she soon reanimated, becoming an aggressive, faster Walker than the franchise has ever seen. Her death and return indicated variant zombies were natural occurrences within the world.
This assumption continued through The Walking Dead series finale, which saw the Commonwealth attacked by zombies that could climb and pick up objects. Similarly, The Ones Who Live featured zombies that were on fire in its first episode, something that appeared to be a natural phenomenon. However, while natural variants have been featured in a variety of shows so far, one zombie spinoff is unique in the way it portrays its variant Walkers.
How The Ones Who Live’s Zombie Variants Differ From The Daryl Dixon Show
Natural and manmade variants are now confirmed to exist.
In an interview with Collider, Andrew Lincoln confirmed The Ones Who Live‘s fire zombies exit due to environmental factors. This is a key difference from the Walker variants seen in Daryl Dixon. The spinoff, which takes place in France, features both fast, aggressive zombies, as well as ones that have acidic blood. These zombie versions are unlike anything seen in any other part of the franchise except World Beyond, something the series addresses near the end of season 1.
It’s revealed that a group called the Pouvoir are behind the creation of zombie variants across the country. While it’s unclear why they’re making these zombies, it seems to have something to do with their attempt at holding the greatest amount of power across France. The variants in Daryl Dixon are a tool for a much larger organization as opposed to a natural part of Walker evolution. However, this revelation is an exception to the rule, since Walker variants in the United States seem to be occurring without human intervention.
Could The CRM Create Its Own Zombie Variants In The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live?
The CRM is still a very secretive organization.
However, just because American zombie variants appear to be natural doesn’t mean other, manmade variants won’t show up in the future. The CRM is responsible for a plethora of zombie experiments, with World Beyond revealing their attempts at slowing down the reanimation process. Because there is still so much mystery surrounding what they do, it’s possible they’ve created a variant in the past. Perhaps the CRM’s 500-year plan and mysterious Echelon briefing will reveal involvement in Walker variant experiments.
While it’s possible Daryl Dixon‘s experimental zombies will be exclusive to the overseas spinoff, The Ones Who Live‘s upcoming episodes could reveal more variants beyond natural ones. Doing so could bring The Walking Dead universe closer together, planting the seeds for a future crossover event. It could also be used to acknowledge the subsets of variants now in the franchise, more clearly differentiating between those that occur naturally, and those caused by human intervention.
