Return engagement: Cast and crew from ‘The Walking Dead’ converge on downtown Worcester again
WORCESTER — A stone’s throw from the back entrance of the Great Wall Chinese restaurant on Main Street, set designers were working feverously to build another great wall, just in time for the incoming zombie apocalypse.
“The Walking Dead: Dead City” is set to return to downtown Worcester to finish what it started last month, the filming of scenes for season three.
So you know what that means? More Negan. More Maggie. And more hordes of zombies and star gawkers.
Thursday, Oct. 23 and Friday, Oct. 24 set designers decorated a barricade wall to keep out hungry zombies and menacing marauders. Their work was down in front of Jean McDonough Arts Center at 20 Franklin St. and the adjacent alleyway at Allen Court, which includes the rear door to the Great Wall.
The side-of-the-road set remained in place throughout the weekend, drawing double-takes from passersby.
The scene includes steel subway turnstiles, chain-link fence panels and various roadway signs including a massive green highway sign that reads “H Hudson PKWY Bronx” and “Ramp 30 MPH.” There are subway signs that say “Harrison Station in Harrison, N.Y.,” “Times Square,” “Rockefeller Center,” “Port Authority,” “Uptown and Queens” and “Downtown and Brooklyn.”
Two newspaper vending machines (for amNew York and The Village Voice) rest atop a generic soda machine, as well as various parts of abandoned vehicles including a car hood and door and Mack Truck grille.
Adding new meaning to the term “double-park,” there is a blue and white New York City Police Department cruiser sitting on top of a crushed yellow cab.
And parked on Federal Street Friday, Oct. 24 was a gray delivery van for “Miss Mack’s Italian Style New York Bakery.” Can you say zombie cannoli?
Worcester is becoming synonymous with “The Walking Dead: Dead City.” This is the second year in a row and the second time this year that film crews for the popular zombie apocalypse franchise have swarmed on Worcester.
In 2024, “The Walking Dead: Dead City” crews filmed six scenes that were prominently featured in episodes three, four and five of season two.
Last month, “The Walking Dead: Dead City” filmed from Sept. 22 through Sept. 24.
Sept. 24 the show’s two stars, Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Lauren Cohan, who play Negan and Maggie Green Rhee, respectively, were up early filming a key scene on Mechanic Street. The shot also featured Željko Ivanek, who plays The Croat, and Logan Kim, who plays Maggie’s son, Hershel Rhee.
The scene was filmed in front of the former Shack’s building at Main and Mechanic streets, doubling as the Croatian Consulate for New York City, according to a wall plaque and Croatian flag hanging outside.
Later in the day, Negan (Morgan) was bashing zombies with his trusty barbed-wire-covered bat “Lucille” on Norwich Street.
Sept. 23 Mechanics Hall underwent an exterior post-zombie apocalypse facelift, while filming also took place in a closed set inside.
Sept. 22 filming commenced on the rooftop (and possibly inside) the Bancroft on the Grid apartment complex.
During downtime, Morgan graciously took selfies with fans (including a baby) and signed autographs on bats. A crowd favorite, Morgan spent 10 minutes at the corner of Norwich and Foster streets on the last day of the three-day September shoot, making sure everyone in attendance got a shot.
