Scott M. Gimple talksWalking DeadUniverse expansion, saying if he has his way, the zombie apocalypse will hit even more countries. Rick Grimes and company first encountered the undead in Atlanta, but soon found themselves trekking north, eventually reaching Virginia.Fear the Walking Deadthen tookTWDto the West Coast,while the upcomingDead Cityseason 2sends Maggie and Negan back to New York. Daryl Dixon’s own spinoff delivered the action all the way to France, with Spain next up on Daryl and Carol’s itinerary.
But Europe may not be the only continent hostingThe Walking Dead, asproducer Gimple muses about potential future locales for the franchise to visit, recalling “experiments” in expanding the universe’s reacheven further beyond American shores. Speaking toScreenRantfrom the Multicon LA Wildfire Benefit, Gimple discussed his wishes for an ever-more-internationalTWDexperience:
There’s one that we’re working on that I’m very, very excited to see that we’ve never been before. But I’d aIso love to see it in Tokyo, I would love to see it in Africa, and I would love to see it in Iceland. I know that’s a weird one, but we want to spam the globe because there’s stories all over the globe.
Gimple then briefly alluded to some efforts toward expansion that were tried out but didn’t quite catch on:
It’s so integral to Daryl Dixon’s story, but even beyond that, we want to go [more places]. We want to see other characters throughout the world, and how they’re faring. And we have had a lot of experiments to that. We’ve actually done really cool stories towards that, but they just haven’t come to fruition for this reason or that. But I will say that by doing them, I’ve essentially seen those shows in my brain, and I really like them.
What This Means For The Walking Dead
Gimple Has A Lot Of Plans
The Walking Deadis officially in the spinoff business after the flagship show was put on ice following season 11.Dead CityandDaryl Dixonmade some headway in finding fresh stories to tell within the universe, whileThe Ones Who Livecircled back to wrap up the story of Rick and Michonne (though both those characters could presumably return).
The Walking Dead: Dead Cityseason 2 premieres May 4 on AMC
Gimple’s remarks give some hint of efforts toward bringingTWD’s zombie mayhemto more international locales, and even tease an “exciting” new project that is still being worked on. The producer indeed seems to have a lot of ideas about how to keepThe Walking Deadshambling along, fifteen years after the original show made its auspicious debut on AMC.
Stories Matter More Than Locations
Daryl Dixonseason 1 showed that a zombie-ravaged Europe could be fertile ground forWalking DeadUniverse storytelling, serving as proof-of-concept forTWDas an international franchise. After season 2 brought Carol into the fold,Daryl Dixonseason 3 will venture to Spain, with the promise of new allies, new enemies, and ever-more-ferocious zombie variants.
The Walking Deadis the kind of franchise that could theoretically work anywhere, allowing Gimple and company to set their sights far beyond the familiar settings introduced in the comics and on the originalTWDseries. But eventually, the franchise must introduce some compelling new main characters to populate those settings, as sending Daryl and Carol on a literal globetrotting adventure would be something of a stretch.
It’s easy enough forThe Walking Deadto renew itself by setting up shop in different locales. What’s harder is telling stories compelling enough to warrant the ongoing effort. Even harder, arguably, is the task of establishing characters who hook into viewers the way Daryl, Carol, Rick, Michonne, Maggie and Negan have. Tokyo or Africa might be interesting locations to visit,but if the stories Gimple sees in his brain are just more stale variations on the familiarTWDformula, the end-result will be disappointing rather than thrilling.
The Walking Dead
The Walking Deadis a massive multimedia franchise that began with a comic book series created by Robert Kirkman, Tony Moore, and Charlie Adlard. The franchise gained widespread popularity with the launch of the television seriesThe Walking Deadin 2010 on AMC, which chronicles the lives of survivors in a post-apocalyptic world overrun by zombies, referred to as “walkers.” The success of the original show has led to numerous spin-offs, web series, video games, novels, and other media. The franchise explores themes of survival, human nature, and the breakdown of society in the face of an existential threat, making it one of the most successful and influential horror series of the 21st century.
