The Walking Dead: Dead City Recasts Character From The Original Series

The Walking Dead: Dead City has recast Maggie and Glenn's son, Hershel.

By Robert Scucci | Updated

When a series gets a spinoff or reboot, sometimes there are instances of recasting, and this is very much the case for the Walking Dead: Dead City, according to Comic Book. The character in question is Maggie and Glenn’s son, Hershel, who was portrayed by Kien Michael Spiller in the original Walking Dead series but will be replaced by Logan Kim (Ghostbusters: Afterlife) for the new series. Dead City is one of three upcoming spinoffs for the AMC series and will take place a few years after the conclusion of The Walking Dead.

The reason for the recasting is a simple one: to suit the timeline for Walking Dead: Dead City. Kien Michael Spiller was last seen at the age of 10 in the Walking Dead finale, and 16-year-old Logan Kim will pick up where Spiller left off by portraying Hershel during his tween years. It’s always tough on audiences when a character is recast, but considering that we’re focusing on a new timeline, the recasting makes sense.

The Walking Dead: Dead City will take place years after the original series in post-apocalyptic New York, and by the sounds of it, will start off in the form of a rescue mission. While we don’t know the entire storyline at the present moment, it’s clear that Hershel is kidnapped, and Maggie (Lauren Cohen) teams up with Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) to track him down in a daring rescue. This is an unlikely partnership because Negan murdered Glenn, Maggie’s husband, in the original series.

Are you familiar with the saying that “some friends become enemies, and some enemies become friends?” This certainly seems to be the case in The Walking Dead: Dead City, but there’s more nuance to the situation than we could presently elaborate on until the series premieres. We’re not saying that water is under the bridge after Negan murdered Glenn, but it’s evident that Negan is the key to tracking down Hershel’s kidnappers, so they simply have to bury the hatchet for now.

walking dead dead city

For those of you who don’t remember the gory details of Glenn’s death (or simply blocked it out because of how brutal the scene was), he was beaten to death in front of Maggie by Negan. Though Negan has turned over a new leaf, Morgan expresses worry about his character slipping back into his old ways. Morgan elaborates, stating that Negan is a creature of habit, and his instinct for survival and adapting to his surroundings will always test his humanity.

Maggie will also have to overcome her justified animosity toward Negan for being the sole reason Hershel is growing up without a father, so she will truly be put to the test in The Walking Dead: Dead City. It’s safe to say that we’re going to be taken into new territory, both physically and emotionally, as the new series unfolds.

The Walking Dead: Dead City is slated for a June 18, 2023, release on AMC and is one of three upcoming spinoffs to the Walking Dead franchise. In addition to Dead City, The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon will premiere later in 2023. The third, unnamed spinoff will follow Michonne and Rick’s story and will grace us with its presence sometime in 2024.