#they said translation in 2025 but you know the track record

[hanzajesthanza]

dandelion is indeed the worst but if he’s not present in the next book i would legitimately be sorrowful as the whole thing will become a slog . you basically cannot have the “short stories” era-of-the-timeline iteration of geralt without dandelion, it would be like eating unbuttered bread.

though it’s not like season of storms did them dirty, i wasn’t disappointed with it (… with regards to them), but since it’s literally been over 20 years since the saga was finished i’m trying to prepare for any potential reality

[ikkleosu]

I have seen your tweets about the spin off. You seem really positive that Melissa is coming back, but I'm so confused by it? Why do you feel so hopeful? I don't want to get my hopes up and be heartbroken all over again.

I wouldn't say I'm "hopeful" I just think for me looking at all the evidence it seems very likely. Other people think differently and that's absolutely okay for them. But if you want to know WHY I think the evidence is in favour, I shall detail it so you can make up your own mind.

So, yesterday Angela Kang commented this

And she's right, when she said "we've all" she meant it. Most of the people involved in the show have said Melissa will be back, though most have not specified the show.

Gimples quote is the one most alluding to non-Caryl stuff:

However, the others are more about Caryl together:

(THIS IS A LONG IMAGE HEAVY POST WITH LOTS OF INFO!)

Nicotero hinted very strongly at Carol going after Daryl:

And then of course there's Norman. He has literally staked his reputation (such as it is) on them reuniting and promised until he's blue in the face that is happening.

Of course he could be lying, however how would that serve him? It would make him more obviously a liar, make those who do still trust him lose that trust and just anger his already thinning fanbase.

And most importantly, Melissa herself said she would be back:

This was only the first step of evidence that has been ever evolving since. The main one of course being Joao on YouTube. The Brazilian youtuber has a very solid track record of spoilers - he had several call sheets from season 11. I can't find the translation of his video, but Hanna summed it up here: https://mcbride.tumblr.com/post/702367502037057536/daryl-spinoff-carol-rumorsspoilers The gist being that Melissa would return to the spin-off either at the end of s1 or start of s2, and that season 2 would have her as a main character, and s2 would start filming back to back with s1 in March 2023.

Many didn't believe Joao, however over time all he's said is proving true.

The showrunner's WGA page shows he is showrunning 2 seasons and employed at least until 2025:

And now, Duane Manwiller has confirmed that yes they are filming the seasons back to back:

And the info we have fits with Joao saying the season 2 filming starts in March.

Early casting calls for returning characters had them listed until Feb:

That seems to indicate one story ending in Feb and another starting in March. We know they are still filming s1 in February from this:

And it looks like they are reaching the end of the season by mid-Feb as those casting calls suggested, given episode 5 appeared to start filming on 20 Jan:

We also now have casting calls for March, and a filming location for 4 week. Given eps are normally filmed over 2 weeks (or so) that does scream of a s1 cliffhanger and s2 resolution:

So given ALL the information that Joao gave in his video about the timing and season 2 has now been proven correct, stands to reason it makes it MUCH more likely the connected information - that Melissa is returning - is also correct.

Now in terms of the negatives, or questions I have seen people posting which make them think it can't be true, here's my answers.

If Melissa can come to France to film now, why couldn't she before?

Two key phrases to note here - 1) "at this time" 2) "filmed in Europe this summer". Filming was delayed by at least 4 months, and while Melissa may not have been able to travel to Europe then, she very well could be NOW. It very much appears from this statement - which she would have approved - that it was a timing/logistics issue.

This seems backed up by this phrasing from Kang, which also agrees with Joao's statement that it was always the plan to get her back:

"Were", past tense.

Also, it's entirely possible that neither she, nor the production will be STAYING in France.

Early on in production, a crew member's partner said they'd be in France until March/April:

(Source: DearTvShow)

If they are just filming season 1 final mid-Feb, it seems highly unlikely they are going to complete a second season by April. Thus, it seems likely they are only filming a couple of episodes of s2 in France.

It's very possible then that Melissa can do s2 because it WON'T be filmed entirely in France.

2) If Melissa is returning why haven't AMC announced it?

Well, that is a question, and obviously I don't know the answer. Yes, I agree it would make more sense if they did. BUT I can see logical reasons why they might not:

they might be gun shy in announcing anything until Melissa's filming is in the can, after what previously happened

they might not want to overshadow Norman's "epic" solo first season

they might think that a surprise appearance by Carol is a bigger impact

And they have precedence for this, when Morgan returned in season 5, it was kept totally secret and Lennie James went to great lengths to remain hidden - traveling under a false name, staying in a different town etc: https://youtu.be/UParJyrTqIg

3) If Melissa is returning, why haven't we seen her filming yet?

Have you met Melissa? LOL We know Melissa has ALWAYS been the queen ninja of filming. Even location shooting like the beach from 10x01, where fans ONLY saw Norman and Lauren Ridloff interacting and never saw Melissa.

But also, she wouldn't have been filming until this week anyway, as it seems likely they just NOW are getting to the s1 finale. And whose to say she isn't on set now, filming, hidden away and using a pseudonym?