Fans of Walking Dead, rejoice — there’s a new spin-off series in the works starring Danai Gurira, Andrew Lincoln, and… New Jersey. That’s right, the latest venture for the long-running zombie franchise will be filming in East Rutherford, NJ, just 20 minutes outside of Montclair. Called The Walking Dead: Summit (coincidentally another New Jersey town), the show is billed to be a love story between fictional characters Michonne + Rick. Read on for what we know about the new Walking Dead spin-off being filmed right here in the Garden State.
What We Know About Walking Dead: Summit
Per NJ.com, the latest Walking Dead spin-off is called Walking Dead: Summit and has “taken up residence in East Rutherford, in the Meadowlands Arena/former Izod Center” for filming. In a perfect world, Summit would’ve been shot in Summit, New Jersey, but this isn’t a perfect world — it’s an apocalyptic zombie universe, and there’s no time for happy coincidences.
Read More: Montclair on Film: A Rundown of the Movies With Scenes Filmed in Town
The new series is a love story between OG Walking Dead characters Michonne Grimes and Rick Grimes. It’s slated to stream at some time in 2024, though there is no official release date yet. According to NJ.com, this isn’t The Meadowlands Arena’s first television rodeo — other notable shows to be filmed there include the CBS series The Equalizer (which stars New Jersey native + icon Queen Latifah), The Enemy Within from NBC, and Lincoln Rhyme: Hunt for the Bone Collector.
Accordingly, filming for “Summit” will extend beyond the East Rutherford outpost. The show’s director, Steve Gorelick, told NJ.com that filming will take place throughout New Jersey. So if you spot a zombie traipsing through the Garden State, no, you’re not imagining it.
They Always Come Crawling Back
Back in October 2022, our sister site The Hoboken Girl reported multiple zombie sightings throughout Hoboken, including at town landmarks like the Hoboken Terminal, Union Dry Dock, and Pier 11. Though it was spooky season (and many residents were, in fact, spooked), it turned out that these sightings were also part of a Walking Dead spin-off called Dead City, (formerly Isle of the Dead), which is slated to release June 2023. See some of the frightful footage from the sightings below.
@thehobokengirl A rather… intense scene being filmed in Hoboken for a Walking Dead spin-off 🧟♂️ (🎥: @jaclyntnovak on IG) #hobokengirl #hobokennj #hoboken #newjersey #jerseytok #njtiktok #jersey #hudsoncounty #hudsoncountynj #walkingdead #film #tvshow ♬ kodak catching paper planes by vatolocz – vatolocz !
The Dead City cast and crew crawled around the Garden State, making stops throughout Essex County in Newark, Cedar Grove, and West Orange, according to NJ.com. This six-episode miniseries is set in post-apocalyptic Manhattan and stars Lauren Cohan and Jeffrey Dean Morgan.
Of course, Walking Dead is only one of many Hollywood headlines tied to New Jersey in recent weeks. Last month, The Montclair Girl reported that several New Jersey natives — including Michael B. Jordan and The Jonas Brothers — had earned their stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. You can take the celeb out of Jersey, but you can’t take the Jersey out of the celeb… clearly.
See More: Where to Spot a Celebrity in North Jersey
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