Could The Walking Dead: World Beyond Jadis Casting Set Up the Rick Grimes Movies?

Anne a.k.a. Jadis (Pollyanna McIntosh) has come a long way on The Walking Dead. First introduced as a quite literal garbage person in The Walking Dead season 7, Jadis received the honor of being the character that brought Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) to safety so that he could live another day…and get his own spinoff movie franchise. Now the character is on to big things once again.

AMC announced today that actress Pollyanna McIntosh will return to the franchise and reprise her role as Jadis in The Walking Dead: World Beyond season 2. They also released a new trailer with visual evidence just in case you don’t believe them! Give the below a watch but play particular close attention to the end. 

“I know that the Civic Republic is the last light of the world,” Jadis says at clip’s end. “My purpose is to create a new era on this planet. I hope you get to catch up while I’m here.” 

With one line of dialogue, Jadis confirms what we all assumed: she is affiliated with the Civic Republic Military (CRM). In fact, a statement to the press from Walking Dead producer Scott Gimple re-confirms as much.

“We are thrilled to have the terrific Pollyanna McIntosh back as Jadis, and we’re excited for viewers to see how she collides with the characters in this part of the Universe,” Gimple said. “In our story, years have passed — we’ll get hints of what happened with that fateful helicopter ride and learn Jadis has new allies and alliances; she is a big part of connecting the CRM and Three Circles mythology that’s seen throughout all three series.  We can’t wait to share it all with fans of the TWDU.”

The CRM is the relatively advanced and martial society at the center of The Walking Dead: World Beyond. The organization was first introduced in The Walking Dead via the distinctive “Three Circle” logo emblazoned on its helicopters and then seen again in Fear the Walking Dead before taking on the role of major antagonists in World Beyond.

More importantly: news of Jadis’s inclusion in the second and final season of World Beyond brings us right back to the Rick Grimes of it all…as all roads in this franchise seem to do. It’s been a long time since we’ve received a meaningful update about the series of films starring The Walking Dead’s biggest hero. Walking Dead: World Beyond showrunner Matt Negrete, however, is fairly adamant that Rick Grimes isn’t set to appear in any of season 2’s 10 episodes.

Still, one does not merely bring back the last known person to be in contact with Rick Grimes for a cameo without at least addressing Rick Grimes in some capacity. The Walking Dead: World Beyond has always been a fascinating experiment for the long-running zombie monolith. While both TWD and FTWD have reached ripe old ages at 11 seasons and 7 seasons respectively, World Beyond was designed as a two-season run. With a limited number of episodes in mind, why wouldn’t World Beyond operate in part as a connection to the future of the franchise at large?

Though we have no reason to not take Negrete at his word, it now seems far more likely that The Walking Dead: World Beyond season 2 will lead into the planned Rick Grimes movies in a very impactful way. 
The Walking Dead: World Beyond season 2 is set to premiere on Sunday, Oct. 3 at 10 p.m. ET. New episodes will be available a week early on AMC+.