New art imagines Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) hallucinating and seeing his son Carl (Chandler Riggs) again in the Walking Dead spinoff series, The Ones Who Live. The spinoff is expected to premiere in 2024 and will join fellow Walking Dead spinoffs Daryl Dixon and Dead City in continuing the franchise. This upcoming title is particularly highly anticipated, though, because it will bring back The Walking Dead‘s main protagonist, Rick, as well as his partner, Michonne (Danai Gurira).

Now, speculative art has found a way for Riggs to return in the spinoff series, too. On Instagram, @akithefull shared some concept art for The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live, which saw the return of Riggs as Carl.

The artist explained their idea for Carl’s possible return, suggesting that he appear via a hallucination. Carl wouldn’t be able to appear physically, considering The Ones Who Live takes place after The Walking Dead, meaning he is deceased by the time of the spinoff. However, he could appear to Rick in a dream to encourage him to keep going during a particularly difficult moment.

Everything We Know So Far About The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live

While the above art does posit a plausible scenario in which Carl could return, there has been no indication he will appear in The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live. Aside from Rick and Michonne returning, the only other cast members who have been confirmed are Pollyanna McIntosh, reprising her role as Jadis Stokes from The Walking Dead, and Lesley-Ann Brandt as a new character named Pearl Thorne. Other characters who could potentially appear are Morgan Jones (Lennie James) and Daryl Dixon (Norman Reedus).

As mentioned before, The Walking Dead: The Ones WhoLive will primarily serve as a continuation of Rick’s and Michonne’s stories. Rick left The Walking Dead in season 9 when he was severely injured and captured by a mysterious group. There were hints that he was alive, though, prompting Michonne to take off in search of him. It wasn’t until the series finale that it was confirmed Rick was alive. In a post-credit scene, he was seen escaping from the Civic Republic Military (CRM), while Michonne was confirmed to still be in pursuit of him.

As a result, it’s expected that The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live will delve deeper into the powerful CRM and what they want with Rick. Additionally, perhaps he and Michonne will work together to take down the CRM. The series nabbed an interim agreement permitting it to continue filming during the SAG-AFTRA strike. Hence, The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live is expected to arrive on time in 2024 and propel viewers into another adventure featuring Rick that has the potential to feature additional familiar faces, too.

Source: @akithefull/Instagram