Variety recently announced that yes; The Walking Dead, by Robert Kirkman, is finally getting the silver screen treatment. The “Dead” will shamble on AMC with The Green Mile and Shawshank Redemption writer Frank Darabont penning the script, directing and executive producing the project.
“This is not about zombies popping out of closets,” said AMC SVP of programming, Joel Stillerman to Variety. “This is a story about survival, and the dynamics of what happens when a group is forced to survive under these circumstances. The world is portrayed in a smart, sophisticated way.”
One thing that has become certain to regular readers of Kirkman’s now classic black and white monthly title is that characters don’t always survive, no matter how beloved. In fact, a certain death that happened last year is heralded as one of the most shocking events in recent comic history. Now whether ot not AMC will be able to capture the true feeling of suspense and the “anyone can die at any second” feeling of the book is yet to be seen, but both the network and the man behind the helm of the project give fans a lot of reasons to be hopeful.
While mose aspects of the series still lay under wraps, it has been said that everything will be done with the intent of keeping the script as close to the book as possible. In the Variety press release, Kirkman is quoted as saying, “I’m a huge fan of Frank Darabont’s body of work and AMC has impressed me to no end with Breaking Bad and Mad Men. I couldn’t be happier with THE WALKING DEAD ending up here.”
Now for my take; with Kirkman’s blessing comes a sense of calming ease to this fanboy who can hardly wait to can hardly wait to sit down with a bowl of popcorn, and watch Rick Grimes and family go toe to toe with the dead. My one concern is how graphic AMC is willing to go with the piece. If you have followed the series since its launch in 2003, you know that there are several shocking and brutal moments in the book, which leads me to wonder how they will be handled by AMC. Although little has been released about the project so far, I promise to keep you all informed when more information comes to surface. Until then, I will be counting down the weeks until I can get my next book, much the same as most of you.
Ryan Fisher
contact@comicattack.net
I was pretty excited hearing about this and actually wondered how AMC would handle some of the more gruesome scenes. I think that many of us that have been reading the book since the first issue are gonna be at a disadvantage because we know who’s gonna die but I can’t wait to see the fight at the jail!!
Wow this is great news. I can’t wait for this!
I agree with you: The fact that Kirkman seems to really be involved in this and gives it his full support makes me feel relived. It will be interesting to see how it all unfolds… like what will the format be? An issue an episode? A story arc spread over 2-3 episodes? Hmmm…
I agree that we won’t be as shocked as some when it comes to how major plot elements unfold, but you have to remember that there is a ton of opportunities to keep the fans guessing with random zombie attacks. If no one dies during them they are completely fair game. Plus in the context of the show we may get to see more of what is happening off in Atlanta or Woodbury more, which could add some new interest.
One this is for sure though, I have already begun the cast speculation in my head…
Great article Ryan! I can’t WAIT for this to air!! The first day I got my hands on The Walking Dead I read for 18 hours straight until I was caught up. Let’s just hope AMC won’t let us down. 😀
I got giddie hearing this. O_o I think it’s b/c Zombies will be part of the primetime line up.
I thought they were going to do a TV series of this. I read the first few trades at the library and loved it. I’d love to see this in the theater too.