TWD: World Beyond Just Introduced A Major Character Without Anyone Noticing

"The Walking Dead" has gained a massive fanbase since it first hit shelves as a comic book series in 2003 through Image Comics. The beloved post-apocalyptic horror franchise's television adaptation by the same name has become a global phenomenon in itself and has spawned spin-offs, including webisodes, upcoming feature films, and the companion series "Fear the Walking Dead."

The most recent addition to the "Walking Dead" universe is the limited series "The Walking Dead: World Beyond," which follows a group of teenagers ten years after the zombie apocalypse who, according to Deadline, are "the first generation to come-of-age in the apocalypse as we know it." "World Beyond" adds more context to the mythology of "TWD" as a whole and provides viewers with a new perspective of the terrifying post-zombie-takeover world.

"TWD: World Beyond" is currently in its second season, and the most recent episode just introduced a major character who we actually first heard about way back in the original series "The Walking Dead" — and he may provide even more answers to the entire franchise.

In "The Walking Dead," Season 5, Episode 5, we first hear of a man named T. Brooks Ellis who, according to Eugene Porter (Josh McDermitt), was the director of the Human Genome Project as well as Eugene's boss — although the latter was proven to be a lie. Despite Eugene's unreliable information, it turns out that Dr. Ellis is a real person and does possibly have ties to the greater mystery in "The Walking Dead."

In Episode 3 of "TWD: World Beyond" titled "Exit Wounds," we finally see Dr. Ellis for the first time (as portrayed by Allan Edwards) — although his significance isn't immediately apparent or emphasized. In the episode, he's introduced as one of Hope Bennett's (Alexa Mansour) teachers who works for the Civic Republic, and he's seen standing in front of a poster titled Human Genome Project. He also refers to Hope's father, Dr. Leopold Bennett (Joe Holt), a fellow scientist and geneticist.

But just what does Dr. Ellis' introduction mean for the future of the show?

Perhaps the biggest mystery in the "TWD" franchise is the source of the walkers, also known as empties, as well as what could cure the disease or stop it from spreading. In 2017, "TWD" creator Robert Kirkman revealed that there were no plans to explain the virus. "When we get questions like these [about a cure], we like to not be as definitive as possible because we don't want to reveal anything," he said, per Comicbook. "But as far as actually trying to solve the thing, I've always thought that one of the best things about this show is that it's not about scientists and it's not about people that would take that on as a task — because I feel like that's unrelatable."

However, with Dr. Ellis now actively in "TWD: World Beyond," we could possibly learn more about the virus, how it affects people, and what could potentially slow it down. Since Hope's father, Leo is already researching fungi that can potentially accelerate decomposition, and Dr. Ellis and Hope are also impressively intelligent when it comes to biochemistry, it wouldn't be too far-fetched to assume they'll work together by the end of "TWD: World Beyond."

Be sure to catch new episodes of "TWD: World Beyond" on AMC.