The Walking Dead showrunner Scott Gimple is taking the George R.R. Martin approach when it comes to explaining the differences between his series and Robert Kirkman’s comics: the books are the books and the show is the show.
Gimple recently spoke to Entertainment Weekly about his decision to end The Walking Dead Season 6 finale with a cliffhanger. Gimple understands why fans were outraged over not knowing who Negan killed, since in the comics the victim is Glenn. Fans had been prepared for the comic book moment, but Gimple decided to go in a different direction.
“As I’ve said a lot of times, it’s a remix,” Gimple told EW . “That’s something we proved when I started on the show and [comic creator Robert Kirkman] and I were sitting in the room and I was a writer and producer. I was always wanting to hew as close to the comics as possible, and Robert was wanting to deviate to provide the readers with a new experience.”
Gimple continued, “And over the years, I integrated it with my own thinking, as long as we fulfill the spirit of the comic story. We are looking to generate the same emotions and have a very direct interpretation of moments in the book — even if it’s completely different — but still achieving the comic story. That’s what I’ve followed all these years, and at the end of Season 6, it’s very much in line with that.”
Hopefully The Walking Dead Season 7 premiere won’t “remix” the big Negan-Lucille death scene from Kirkman’s comics too much. Rumor has it we’ll see more than one character die when the show returns this fall. Let’s just hope The Walking Dead Season 7 premiere rewards fans for putting up with that awful cliffhanger.
