In a world full of zombies where bad things happen everyday, The Walking Dead’s creator says every character is expendable even the beloved Daryl Dixon played by Norman Reedus…
When a character gets to the point in a TV show where there are t-shirts being made that say ‘If Daryl Dies We Riot’, it’s a safe assumption that fans are a pretty big supporter of a character sticking around for the long haul. On ‘The Walking Dead’, Norman Reedus’ popular backwoods hunter with a heart of gold Daryl Dixon has definitely become the most popular character on the series, but when no one is ever guaranteed a tomorrow, is anyone ever really safe?
The question of popularity for certain characters came up to Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman recently when he was asked about killing off a certain actor or actress regardless of the backlash they would receive from fans.
His answer, while not surprising, confirms that in a show that’s already offed a huge number of series regulars, nobody is above being killed for the sake of story telling.
“In my opinion, I feel like characters ripen like fruit. So while I wouldn’t say the more popular a character is the more likely they are to die, they do have to reach a certain level of popularity before they’ve “earned” the death,” Kirkman said. “No character is too popular to die. (Suck it, Reedus!)”
The same can be said for Andrew Lincoln’s lead character of Rick Grimes, although given his status on the show it’s hard to imagine he’d be killed before the series reaches its final year. Of course then again you never know.
“ABSOLUTELY NOT,” Kirkman replied when asked if Rick was above the killing line. “Although when I look in Andrew Lincoln’s piercing blue eyes I FEEL safe.”
The other major teaser that Kirkman let loose during his Q&A session revolves around the season 4 finale in two weeks. While he didn’t let any big spoilers out of the bag, he did say this will be a cliffhanger to end all cliffhangers when it comes to The Walking Dead.
“SAVAGE,” Kirkman’s word for describing the finale. “Honestly… people are going to be talking about this one. The cliffhanger at the end of season 4 will make the wait between seasons 4 and 5 the hardest wait we’ve ever had. ENJOY!”
The Walking Dead will return on Sunday with the penultimate episode for season 4 before the finale airs on Sunday night, March 30 at 9pm ET/PT on AMC
