The Walking Dead’s Next Big Villain: Why They Must Come from Beyond U.S. Borders

It’s time for The Walking Dead‘s main group of survivors to encounter a villain from outside the United States. From the Governor to Lance Hornsby, Rick Grimes and his allies fought all manner of antagonists across The Walking Dead‘s 11 seasons, each more powerful than the last. The culmination of that trajectory proved to be the Commonwealth in The Walking Dead‘s ending – a veritable army of well-equipped, armor-clad soldiers that could have wiped communities like Alexandria and Hilltop from the map with little effort.

Naturally, most enemy groups in The Walking Dead have been native to the United States – usually not hailing from beyond the south-eastern and eastern states. The Walking Dead‘s various spinoffs have introduced evil groups elsewhere too, covering California, Texas, New York, Pennsylvania, and more. As the overarching story of The Walking Dead continues, however, the franchise has rapidly outgrown the need for more domestic evildoers. If and when the next big bad of The Walking Dead appears, they should be entering the United States from a different country altogether.

The Walking Dead’s Main Survivors Are Way Too Powerful To Be Beaten By Any U.S. Villain Group

Rick’s Group Is Part Of A Nationwide Alliance

The biggest problem with another North American villain popping up in The Walking Dead is that they couldn’t possibly pose a realistic threat. By the end of The Walking Dead, the show’s heroes had assimilated the Commonwealth into their own network of communities, covering a large chunk of the eastern United States. Effectively, that big, scary, powerful army winds up under the command of Ezekiel and Mercer, and even if it was somewhat depleted by the various battles of The Walking Dead season 11, the Commonwealth remains a force to be reckoned with.

Anyone packing enough clout to rival the good guys would inevitably have been spotted.

The protagonists became even more protected when Rick Grimes returned home in The Ones Who Live‘s ending. Rick resurfaced having defeated Major General Beale of the CRM, but it seemed that Andrew Lincoln’s character established friendly relations with the Civic Republic’s ruling council before he left, because a Civic Republic helicopter dropped him home. Moving forward into The Walking Dead‘s future, therefore, one would assume that the Civic Republic becomes an ally of the Commonwealth, Alexandria, Hilltop, and the other communities.

The Civic Republic Military took a massive hit to its personnel and resources when Rick and Michonne blew most of said personnel and resources up in a huge explosion, but the Civic Republic itself is still many times larger and stronger than the Commonwealth, and its military remains a feared behemoth of the zombie apocalypse, even with its numbers cut. The Civic Republic is also friendly with another massive settlement based in Portland. What emerges is an impressive web of Rick-friendly groups spread right across the United States, its numbers totaling hundreds of thousands.

The post-outbreak United States is crawling with cruel leaders and megalomaniacs, but if any of those were large enough to combat the combined might of Alexandria, Hilltop, the Commonwealth, and the Civic Republic, that group couldn’t possibly have gone unnoticed for so long. It makes sense for shadowy groups like the Whisperers to appear out of nowhere, but anyone packing enough clout to rival the good guys would inevitably have been spotted by the CRM, Portland, or the Commonwealth.

A Battle Between Communities From Different Countries Would Be A New Level For The Walking Dead

The Walking Dead Can Go Truly Global

The only solution would be drafting in a brand-new villain from another country. Even the mighty Civic Republic possessed little knowledge of the situation elsewhere in the world, and that global ambiguity allows for the introduction of a foreign group that makes the CRM look like small-time amateurs. Perhaps a group that, over the course of more than 10 years since The Walking Dead‘s timeline began, has retaken their country and united its entire surviving population into one. They might be looking to branch into other countries uninvited, triggering a clash against the network of communities brought together by Rick.

The Walking Dead TV Shows
Years Active

The Walking Dead
2010-2022

Fear The Walking Dead
2015-2023

World Beyond
2020-2021

Tales Of The World Dead
2022

Dead City
2023-

Daryl Dixon
2023-

The Ones Who Live
2024

A major threat from abroad would feel considerably more realistic than a North American community bigger than the CRM somehow staying hidden for so long. More importantly, an enemy arriving from another country would represent a genuine escalation in terms of scale and drama compared to season 11. Any future projects involving the full cast of The Walking Dead – whether that be a crossover, a new season, or something else entirely – would demand higher stakes instead of just another local community for the gang to slowly take control of.

Any villain that arrives in the U.S. looking to throw their weight around – and that forces the CRM, Commonwealth, and Rick’s other communities to work together – would be bigger than anything else The Walking Dead has dared attempt during its existence. If AMC’s teased The Walking Dead crossover ever comes to pass, an invasion storyline would certainly be an angle worthy of such a landmark event.

Daryl Dixon’s Spinoff Can Easily Set Up A Villain From Another Country

Daryl Has Been Attracting International Attention

The Walking Dead already has a ready-made way to explain why an unseen malicious force might be making its way to the United States. The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon takes Norman Reedus’ titular biker and Melissa McBride’s Carol on a trek around Europe. The duo previously encountered the Pouvoir du Vivant organization that controlled most of France, but will be moving onto Spain in Daryl Dixon season 3, at which point a new antagonist will inevitably emerge.

The Pouvoir-Union alliance may be preparing to gather more fighters and take their grudge across the Atlantic, straight to Daryl’s home.

As Daryl Dixon progresses, it’s possible that one of these nefarious European dictatorships – or perhaps even a coalition of several Euro-baddies Daryl and Carol have annoyed – will advance on North American shores looking to seize supplies, land, or both. Daryl and Carol may arrive home just in time to warn their friends of the coming battle, forcing all major U.S. locations to pool their strength in resistance.

This process might have already started with Genet’s Pouvoir du Vivant in Daryl Dixon. Between them, Daryl and Carol managed to kill Pouvoir’s leader and decimated a large chunk of its forces. Nevertheless, Pouvoir du Vivant was not completely dead when Daryl Dixon season 2 ended, and merged with the Union, another villain group that shared Genet’s distaste for gravel-voiced Americans wielding crossbows.

As Daryl and Carol escape the country, the Pouvoir-Union alliance may be preparing to gather more fighters and take their grudge across the Atlantic, straight to Daryl’s home. Pouvoir has already been conducting zombie experiments on U.S. soil, and its variant serum would make for a potent weapon if war against the Commonwealth is what The Walking Dead‘s future holds.