At the end of the month The Walking Dead returns for another big season of zombie action. This past season left viewers on the edge of a cliff, as an unknown series regular was killed off-screen and audiences had to wait all summer long for the outcome. However, who ever ends up being revealed to be on the wrong side of Negan’s bat ultimately will not slow the show down.
The Walking Dead is entering its seventh season and is continuing to gain in popularity, which is unusual for a series of this scale and scope. With a successful comic, a TV show spin-off Fear the Walking Dead, and a huge season premiere in the waiting, the franchise is in a very good place. However, no show lasts for ever and The Walking Dead has made a reputation for paying off the dramatic tension that it creates. So, it would stand to reason that the creative team already knows how the story will end. However, it seems that it might not be the case.
The Walking Dead creator, Robert Kirkman, recently made an appearance on an episode of Kevin Smith’s and opened up about both the comic and television show that he masterminded.
“I hope the show ends and the comics keep going. The comic was the comic before the show, so I try to maintain that. I know how I want to end ‘The Walking Dead’…I don’t want it on the show before I get it in my comic.”
The overall story of The Walking Dead is larger than any individual character or story line. The brilliance of what Kirkman created is that the enjoyment doesn’t hinge on finding out why the deadly infection started. The show doesn’t follow surviving scientists who are looking for a cure (if it even exists). It’s about the remaining people struggling for survival on the ground floor of the crisis. So it’s up to Kirkman’s discretion if and how he would want to reveal the bigger picture.
“If the show were to ever end at any point and the comic was still going, I would have to sit down with Scott and pretend I have no idea how to end it and then work with him to try and come up with a new ending,”
It’s interesting that he knows how the end of the comic will play out. It also indicates that he has a rough idea of how many years the comic book series will run. It’s far more likely that the show would be canceled first, since TV series live and die annually. However, either way, things have to be a little awkward at production meetings knowing that Kirkman is withholding information.
There is actual genius behind Kirkman’s method, as it forces the writers to come up with their own creative solutions and story lines. However, first things first. One or more of the cast won’t make it past the season premiere, so instead of worrying about the future, there is a lot of zombie action to appreciate right now.
The Walking Dead returns on October 23rd, 2016 on AMC.
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