A third series set in the TWD universe is about to debut in the form of The Walking Dead: World Beyond, which will put a YA spin on the post-apocalyptic world that we know well by now. We can also expect the show to increase the franchise’s LGBTQ representation by introducing a new gay lead character in the form of Felix, as played by Nico Tortorella.
Tortorella – who identifies as non-binary in real-life – teased what we can expect from their character on Talking Dead, saying that Felix will be the leader of the group of young survivors World Beyond will focus on, which also includes Hope (Alexa Mansour), Iris (Aliyah Royale), Silas (Hal Cumpston) and Elton (Nicolas Cantu).
“Felix is a great dude. No, Felix is smart, Felix is the most loyal. Felix is the protector of this crew.”
The actor went on to explain Felix’s tragic backstory, as well as how he found a family with Hope, Iris and their father, Nebraska State University head Raymond Campbell (Joe Holt).
“In so many ways the girls — Iris and Hope — are like sisters to Felix. They really are the only family he has at this point. And the girls’ father basically adopted Felix a long time ago because Felix was kicked out of his house for being gay. That was the first thing I knew about Felix when I heard about this project.”
We can expect Felix to be a “fighter,” according to Tortorella, who “holds these people, this chosen family, the closest to his heart — sometimes to a fault.” They even compared their character to Andrew Lincoln’s Rick Grimes when The Walking Dead parent series first began.
“Felix reminds me so much of Season 1 Rick in the best ways. And I feel like Rick now, wherever he is, would recognize that in Felix.”
The Walking Dead season 10 is currently airing on AMC. Once that concludes, World Beyond will kick off on Sunday, April 12th. Remember, though, the show will only have a limited lifespan and is set to end after two seasons.
