Norman Reedus on bringing 'Walking Dead' franchise to India: I think it would be awesome

New Delhi: Hollywood star Norman Reedus would love to bring his long-running TV franchise "The Walking Dead" to India as the actor says he is curious to see how different cultures would react to a zombie apocalypse.

"The Walking Dead" franchise, based on Robert Kirkman’s comic series, is set in a post-apocalyptic world overrun by zombies, called "walkers", and explores themes of survival, morality, and relationships of various groups. It started with the eponymous show that ran from 2010 to 2022 on American network AMC.

Reedus plays the role of Daryl Dixon in the franchise, starting with "The Walking Dead", set in the US, and now in the spin-off series "The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon", which travels to France.

"I would love to explore more and more of this (show) in different places and see how different cultures deal with a zombie apocalypse. I could see it going to a whole bunch of different places," Reedus told PTI in an interview.

Asked if he would like the franchise to travel to India, the 55-year-old actor said it would be "awesome".

"All the delicious food, all the colours, it would be great... It's interesting, I remember at one point Kirkman and all were talking about doing spinoffs... They were talking about different cultures, different languages. I know there were conversations. Not that I had anything to do with it, I was just lucky I was still coming back," Reedus added.

The USP of the franchise is the relationships between disparate characters that feels relatable to the audiences, he said.

"It was a group of people that were in the situation together that never would have been in the same room. Like none of those people would have hung out with each other and they were forced to get along, fight together, live together, work together, make decisions together in order to survive.

"I think those people started relationships and certain pacts were made and they became like a real functioning family. And I think watching all those different characters, people could relate to someone in that group," he said.

The actor has been associated with the character of Daryl Dixon for more than a decade. Dixon is a skilled tracker, hunter, and fighter, who was initially introduced as a lone wolf with a tough exterior but came to be known as a deeply loyal and compassionate figure.

Reedus said Dixon has changed a lot as during the entirety of "The Walking Dead" and also in the spin-off "The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon", which recently returned with its second season, titled "The Book of Carol".

"The character of Daryl is so different from where he started. If he was going to look you in the face, he's probably going to fight you. Everything kind of came in this direction. Through the years, Daryl has learned a lot from all these people that have meant something to him.

"I think he'll look at his situation a little differently now than he would have back then," he said.

Also starring Melissa McBride, Clémence Poesy, Louis Puech Scigliuzzi, Laika Blanc Francard, Charrier, Romain Levi and Eriq Ebouaney, "The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon – The Book of Carol" is showrun by David Zabel. The six-episode second season is currently available for streaming on Prime Video.