Melissa McBride (The Mist), who has starred as Carol Peletier in the hit AMC series The Walking Dead since the show’s start in 2010, will no longer be joining the show’s upcoming spinoff series, according to Deadline. The spinoff series was set to center around her and Norman Reedus’ (The Boondock Saints) character, Daryl Dixon.
“Melissa McBride has given life to one of the most interesting, real, human and popular characters in The Walking Dead Universe. Unfortunately, she is no longer able to participate in the previously announced spin-off focused on the Daryl Dixon and Carol Peletier characters, which will be set and filmed in Europe this summer and premiere next year,” AMC said in a statement Wednesday, per Deadline. “Relocating to Europe became logistically untenable for Melissa at this time. We know fans will be disappointed by this news, but The Walking Dead Universe continues to grow and expand in interesting ways and we very much hope to see Carol again in the near future.”
The upcoming series is set to be filmed in Europe, which is notable since the original Walking Dead series was filmed in Georgia. It is unclear where in Europe it will be filmed and if the series will be set in Europe.
This spinoff series, which Reedus is still on board for, is among several Walking Dead series that are currently in the works, including a New York City-set spinoff revolving around Jeffrey Dean Morgan (Watchmen) and Lauren Cohan’s (The Boy) characters, Negan and Maggie, as well as anthology series Tales of the Walking Dead, according to Deadline. Fear The Walking Dead kicked off the second part of its seventh season on April 17.
The Walking Dead is currently in the middle of its eleventh and final season. They recently wrapped up the second part of the season and the final eight episodes will premiere later this year.