WARNING: The following post contains spoilers for The Walking Dead and Fear The Walking Dead
AMC's Walking Dead universe is expanding with its third scripted series: The Walking Dead: World Beyond. This new series follows the next generation of survivors born into the zombie apocalypse as they venture out from the safety of their homes into a harsh world.
World Beyond will introduce many new characters and storylines to this ever-expanding post-apocalyptic world, but the prospect of this new series can also mean answers to one of the show's biggest non-zombie related mysteries: the three-ring helicopters that keep popping up both in the main series as well as Fear The Walking Dead. Just who exactly are these people? And what greater importance do they serve in the Walking Dead universe?
When Did These Helicopters First Appear?
This first time we see these mysterious helicopters was in The Walking Dead Season 9, Episode 5, "What Comes After", which is famously known as Andrew Lincoln's final episode as Rick Grimes. After seemingly being caught in a bridge explosion that wiped out a massive hoard of walkers, Rick appeared to be dead to his many allies. However, it was later revealed that Rick did survive and washed along the back of the river before being found by Anne (Pollyanna McIntosh), also known as Jadis. After she finds him, a helicopter with the three-ring symbol shows up and takes them away to parts unknown.
The group also appears in Fear The Walking Dead, most notably in Season 5, Episode 4, "Skidmark", we encounter the helicopter yet again. When Morgan (Lennie James) and Alicia (Alycia Debnam-Carey) go searching for Althea (Maggie Grace), they encounter the chopper with the same symbol flying over them. Just like in the main series, Anne was communicating with them about trading an "A" or "B" offering in order to gain access to their community. The people Anne is talking to and what this community has to offer to her remains to be seen.
Which Brings Us To Wold Beyond
The first teaser for World Beyond gave us another glimpse at this mysterious faction. Near the end of the teaser, a woman named Elizabeth (Julie Ormund) steps out of a helicopter with the same symbol on its side alongside a group of soldiers. As the soldiers gun down what appears to be a horde of walkers behind a fence, Elizabeth narrates that "we are the last light of the world" and "we are the last hope". This ties into who Isabelle described in Fear, with the group being referred to as CRM.
There is still little known about this group, other than that it's a network of three communities of survivors that use these helicopters to transport survivors and supplies around, but Ormund is confirmed to play the leader of CRM.
Where Is Rick?
We know that Andrew Lincoln is set to reprise his role as Rick Grimes in a series of movies that will finally explain where he went. But other than a brief teaser, AMC still hasn't revealed any plot details for the film.
The film will most likely follow Rick as he becomes integrated with CRM and its other members. This means that there will most likely be a crossover between World Beyond and the movies themselves. Not to mention, there might finally be some answers as to what Anne has been doing with CRM, what "A" and "B" she has been trading, and the fates of the various people involved in these trades. Perhaps Rick's extensive knowledge of surviving the apocalypse is something Elizabeth wants.
With so many questions still up in the air, the mysteries surrounding CRM will make the Walking Dead universe even bigger than it already is. Only time will tell where it all ends up.
The Walking Dead: World Beyond is scheduled to premiere in Spring 2020.