New Walking Dead Anthology Show Could Bring Back Abraham

The Walking Dead may be ending, but the franchise just keeps on expanding all the same. Following its conclusion, the parent series will be replaced by two brand new spinoffs. A vehicle for Norman Reedus’ Daryl and Melissa McBride’s Carol is grabbing all the headlines, but there’s also an anthology series coming, too. Titled Tales of the Walking Dead, the show will focus on different characters, periods and places every week.

No further details beyond that have been announced just yet, but it’s possible we can deduce one character who will feature in an episode of the show. And they’re a real fan favorite.

ComicBook.com has analyzed some old comments in a new light and deduced that there’s a good chance Michael Cudlitz is coming back as Abraham Ford for Tales. In March 2019, the actor made it clear that there’s a high probability he’ll be reprising his role as Abraham in the future of the TWD universe. He explained that various projects in the works will open the door to his return, despite Abe’s death at Negan’s hand in the season 7 premiere.

“They’re also doing other movies which are going to move in time — go back in time, go forward in time — and I believe pair up characters that weren’t necessarily paired up in the graphic novels,” Cudlitz said. On Abraham’s return, he added, “A strong, subtle yes. Very, very possible.”

Though the actor/director says “movies,” he may have used that term to throw us off slightly, as he does appear to be describing the two new shows that have just been announced. After all, the Daryl and Carol vehicle will be pairing up characters we didn’t see together in the comics – mainly because one of them was created for TV. He also seems to be referencing the anthology nature of Tales. 

Based on our knowledge of what’s coming up in the franchise, this series seems like the most likely place for Abraham to return. We could either follow his original group before they encountered Rick’s community, or else explore Abe’s pre-apocalypse life.

Tales will debut in 2023, but The Walking Dead is returning for its season 10 finale well before that, as it’ll be with us next month, on October 4th.