Here's what AMC network chief Charlie Collier and programming head Joel Stillerman told Vulture regarding the status of The Walking Dead spinoff that currently aiming for a 2015 release:
[The Walking Dead spinoff] is not as far along [as the Breaking Bad spinoff, Better Call Saul]. Robert [Kirkman] has some things on his plate. He continues to write every issue of the comic and hasn’t finished season four of The Walking Dead, which he is very intimately involved with and will continue to be. That’s really in the incubation stages. The one thing that I’ll share is just an anecdote that Robert shared with us. He has such a specific vision that he laid out really clearly in the first issue of the comic book. And I encourage anybody who’s interested in the show to go read the note that he wrote in the first issue of the comic. His motivation for telling that story was so clear and so powerful, and it served as such a great north star for the show. We kicked around a few ideas, but primarily what he’s working on is, what is the idea that gives [him] as clear a mandate to make another version of this show as [he] had for the first one? What is going on [now] is a more philosophical discussion over why there should be another version of the show. Once we answer that, we’ll zero in on the specific creative.
Back in September '13, AMC issued an official press release announcing a spinoff of cable's most watched program,
The Walking Dead. Subsequent soundbites from Kirkman and other AMC affiliated individuals have hinted that the spinoff will be a prequel, set in an entirely different locale and will feature an all new-cast of characters not encountered in the television show or comic book. But the clock is currently ticking and it appears that Kirkman and co. haven't exactly zeroed in on a definitive narrative for the spinoff. Vulture followed that line of reasoning, asking Collier and Stillerman if the spinoff is not 100 % green-lit; to which they replied, "It’s in development. What we want to do is not diminish the mothership. What we want to do is find something that everyone involved feels as passionately about as being a unique vehicle and unique enterprise as compared to the original series. We’ll take our time, and we’ll do it right." Do you think the spinoff should follow a new cast? Should it be a prequel? Will the spinoff damage the original or enhance it? There's currently a lot of questions surrounding the project and not many answers. Most of these questions should be answered as we move deeper into 2014 but the most pressing question at the moment is will they be answered in time for the spinoff to stay on track for its 2015 release date?
RELATED CONTENT: Could 'THE WALKING DEAD' Introduce Negan Sooner Than Expected? THE WALKING DEAD Season 4 - First Behind The Scenes Look Robert Kirkman Reveals His Original Idea (Now Scrapped) For How The Zombie Apocalypse Started "The Walking Dead, the most watched drama in basic cable history, will return for a sixteen episode fourth season on October 13, 2013.
Based on the comic book series written by Robert Kirkman and Charlie Adlard and published by Image Comics, The Walking Dead stars Andrew Lincoln, Steven Yeun, Norman Reedus, Chandler Riggs, Lauren Cohan, Scott Wilson, Melissa McBride, David Morrissey, Chad Coleman, Sonequa Martin-Green and Danai Gurira . The series is executive produced by Kirkman, Scott M. Gimple, Greg Nicotero, and Gale Anne Hurd." |
Running Time: 60 minutes (45 min actual air time)
Release Date: October 2013 (Season 4-premiere)
TV Rating: TV-MA for sex & nudity, violence & gore, profanity, alchohol/drugs/smoking and frightening/intense scenes
Starring: Andrew Lincoln,
David Morrissey,Chad Coleman, Sonequa Martin-Green, Steven Yeun, Chandler Riggs, Emily Kinney, Norman Reedus
Creators: Frank Darabont (show) Robert Kirkman (comic)
Written by: Frank Darabont, Charles H. Eglee, Jack LoGiudice, Robert Kirkman, Glen Mazzara, Adam Fierro, Charlie Adlard, Tony Moore, Evan T. Reilly