While production on the first movie in a projected trilogy of The Walking Dead films has been stalled by the COVID-19 crisis, series creator Robert Kirkman doesn’t sound too concerned about his franchise.
Appearing on a recent virtual Skybound Xpo panel to discuss the first movie–a spinoff of the wildly popular comic book and TV series–Kirkman said the creative team has kept busy during the shutdown, polishing the screenplay to a bright shine, as reported by wegotthiscovered.com.
“There’s a ton of stuff going on behind the scenes,” Kirkman said. “I don’t want anyone to think that we’re just kind of waiting around for this pandemic to end.” He added that the virus crisis “is going to make a lot of movies better–I think the Rick Grimes movie chief among them, just because we’re getting a lot more time to cook this thing and make sure it’s perfect. But when things do quiet down, you guys are going to hear a ton more about the movie.”
Skybound Entertainment co-founder David Alpert was equally enthusiastic about the new project. “We’re coming along In a big way,” he said. “We’re just in this particular space where we have (to wait).”
Alpert stressed that everyone is raring to go as soon as they get the green light. “We are desperate to get back into production and get everything going,” he remarked. “We have something really exciting, really unique, really different and can’t wait to get it going. We just have to wait for it to be safe.”
This proposed trilogy–as reported here in Horror News Network–is expected to spotlight the return of the Rick Grimes character (portrayed by Andrew Lincoln), who left the TV series back in Season 9. In this first film, Grimes is expected to be found alive and well and being taken to a “human encampment that aims to find a cure for the zombie problem.” Not unexpectedly, there will be “interpersonal conflicts the comic book and TV series are known for,” and scientists will enter the picture who have a “mad side that includes experimenting on unwilling human subjects.”
Meanwhile, on the TV side, the original The Walking Dead series also has been on hiatus during the coronavirus crisis, with the Season 10 finale being pushed back to sometime later this year.
The Walking Dead–both on the big and small screen–will be featured during the Comic-Con@Home happening slated for July 24, so keep reading Horror News Network for any revelations that will come out of that virtual event.
