Scott Gimple, who runs “The Walking Dead’ universe at AMC, says he still dreams about a massive crossover that would feature characters from every show in the franchise…
“The Walking Dead’ will soon expand to seven TV series with the launch of “The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live,” which will finally feature the return of fan favorite characters Rick Grimes and Michonne.
But is it possible that’s not the last reunion or perhaps introduction that we’ll see between all of the different “Walking Dead” series?
Scott M. Gimple — the chief content officer for “The Walking Dead” franchise at AMC — says he still has hopes that he could pull off some kind of massive crossover event that would unite characters from all of the various series. As it stands, “The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live” is joined by “The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon” and “The Walking Dead: Dead City” as the only active series at AMC but there have been numerous others including “Fear the Walking Dead” and “The Walking Dead: World Beyond” not to mention the original series that ran for 11 seasons.
It turns out that’s something that Gimple started developing years ago when he was still just a staff writer on “The Walking Dead.”
“I came into [“The Walking Dead”] in Season 2 as a fan of the comic and as a fan of the show, and even then I would have these dreams, these wishes, these things I wanted to do in story,” Gimple told TV Line. “And actually [a spinoff about] Rick and Michonne was one of them, that I quietly alluded to in ‘Clear’ (Season 3, Episode 12). As a staff writer you’re kind of like, ‘Am I getting away with this?’ Even on-set, Danai [Gurira, who plays Michonne] was like, ‘I see what you’re doing,’ and I was like, ‘Shhh!’
“I didn’t know if I’d be able to tell that story and you do have to be flexible, you have to have this garden of forking paths and pivot. So when it comes to something like [an Avengers: Endgame-style, all-series crossover event], yeah, I do have dreams of merging this all together, and I have laid little breadcrumbs toward that, but you never know exactly when and how [it will come together], because of a variety of reasons.”
Gimple definitely has the chance to at least merge some of the characters into a crossover, especially with “Fear the Walking Dead” featuring Morgan (as played by Lennie James) ending his time on the show with a promise that he was going to find his old friends — meaning the group led by Rick Grimes — and we know that “The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live” will feature the return of Jadis (Pollyana McIntosh), who was also featured in “The Walking Dead: World Beyond.”
There will already be a reunion of sorts in the “Daryl Dixon” series with Melissa McBride reprising her role as Carol as she goes on a hunt to find her old friend in the upcoming second season. Of course, “Dead City” features Maggie and Negan together and that show was already renewed for season 2.
“Dead City is a vibrant show, Daryl [Dixon] is a vibrant show, this one [The Ones Who Live] is [a vibrant show],” Gimple said. “I will just say that I’m building those pathways, but there could be all sorts of pivots along the way that change it. So I guess answer is yes?”
It remains to be seen if a huge crossover in “The Walking Dead” universe will happen but given AMC’s continued investment in the franchise, it’s tough to believe a massive event series like that would just be ignored if it could actually happen. Now when that might come together is a whole other story.
