Last summer, when AMC’s Walking Dead spinoff Fear the Walking Dead aired its six-episode first season, viewers were promised that an upcoming Walking Dead web series, titled Flight 462, would introduce them to a new character who would join the rest of the Los Angeles-based survivors as they worked their way through the early stages of the zombie apocalypse. Although it was an official tie-in/spinoff to the highest rated drama on cable television – and even aired seven of the first eight installments throughout the first half of TWD season 6 – the minute-long snippets of passengers soon to be trapped with a newly christened member of the undead in a large metal tube hurtling through the sky sort of came and went without much in the way of serious fanfare. But thanks to a new promo for season 2 of Fear the Walking Dead, the little zombie-filled web series won’t be remanded to the dustbin of popular culture.
The advertisement completely forgoes dialogue, instead opting to remind viewers what went down during season 1, finally hinting at the promised connection to Flight 462 with the sound of an airliner flying overhead, its shadow streaking across the water of the Pacific Ocean. What exactly that implies, however, remains to be seen, as the finale of season 1, ‘The Good Man,’ teased an ocean-faring adventure for Travis (Cliff Curtis) and his blended family, courtesy of the show’s most dynamic character, Mr. Strand (or Victor, if you prefer to be on a first-name basis with fictional survivors of a zombie apocalypse), played by Colman Domingo of Selma and The Knick season 2. Perhaps this was a way for the promo to hint at the yachting that awaits the characters, while also reminding viewers there’s a new cast member just waiting to literally fly into our hearts next season.
Whether it’s Michelle Ang’s vigilant poor communicator Charlie or Brendan Meyer’s anxious texting teen Jake remains to be seen, though those two seem like the most likely candidates. Then again, maybe FTWD will throw everyone a curveball and make the new character Connie (Sheila Shaw) the knitting fanatic whose need to answer nature’s call winds up being the catalyst for unleashing a newly risen member of the undead – either that or he was stricken with one heck of a case of acid reflux – on the passengers aboard flight 462.
Despite the brief hubbub surrounding the story of Flight 462 and its promise of adding to the spinoff show’s dwindling cast, Fear the Walking Dead isn’t letting a web series make all of its upcoming casting decisions. Recently, it was announced that onetime mustachioed Strike Back baddie (and potential Wolverine) Dougray Scott will join the cast in a role believed to be that of Casey, a “decent man who believes in civility,” but eventually has to accept the violence of the new post-apocalyptic world. Scott won’t be the only newcomer to the season, however, as indie film actor Veronica Diaz has recently been cast in the role of Vanessa, a “smart and deceptive” young woman “with a look of innocence, someone who throws herself into her work with reckless abandon,” according to Deadline.
Given the rather short life expectancy of guest stars on both Fear the Walking Dead and the original series, there’s no telling how long anyone can expect to see Scott, Diaz, or the passenger waiting to deboard flight 462. They could be in for the long haul or they could be zombie chow (or worse) before the second half of season 2 begins later this year. Either way fans of Fear the Walking Dead don’t have long to find out.
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Fear the Walking Dead season 2 premiere Sunday, April 10 @9pm on AMC.
Source: AMC, Deadline
