Robert Kirkman Says The Walking Dead Animated Series Can Only Happen Under One Condition

Robert Kirkman has explained why he has stalled his plans to re-imagine The Walking Dead on TV as an animated series. While Kirkman has already ended his graphic novel narrative of Rick Grimes and the zombie-infested world he survives in, he has not completely stepped away from the idea of doing something new in the franchise. However, like so many popular IPs, The Walking Dead is caught up in a knot of rights complexities that the creator would want to resolve before he considers moving forward with the project.

As per Comicbook.com, in a recent revelation through the Letter Hacks column of The Walking Dead Deluxe #85, Kirkman shared his enthusiasm for bringing an animated adaptation of the horror saga to life, so he could develop a faithful version of the story compared to that of the popular AMC series. But he was quick to temper expectations, acknowledging the project’s feasibility hinges on him being able to reclaim the rights from AMC – something that seems very unlikely with the new surge in popularity of the franchise on the network. Kirkman wrote:

Whether Kirkman would be willing to consider working with AMC on such a project is unclear, but it is something that has been suggested previously. In fact, one of AMC’s first Walking Dead projects after securing the rights to the franchise, involved the animation of Kirkman’s original comic.

The Walking Dead Was Almost Animated in 2010

The rights to The Walking Dead were purchased in 2009 as part of the biggest deal AMC had struck at that time. Before the first episodes of the series aired under the direction of Frank Darabont, the network originally created an 8-minute video that turned the first 13 pages of The Walking Dead #1 into a motion comic.

Although there was a chance that the series could have been developed in animated form then, the live-action approach certainly paid off in the long run, and that has primarily been the focus of AMC ever since. The franchise has dabbled with animation in the Red Machete webseries, which incorporated animated sequences, and Telltale’s video games, which themselves adopted a comic book style. The crux of the matter for a future animated project seems to come down to Kirkman’s desire to faithfully adapt his own story for the screen, and whether AMC would allow him to do that without interference.

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Fear the Walking Dead Comic Book Series Is Highly Unlikely, Robert Kirkman Says

Don’t bet on Fear the Walking Dead having its story continue in a comic book series after its upcoming final season.

For more than a decade, the ability of studios to turn fantasy and horror IPs into live-action movies and TV shows that were previously thought out of scope for financial or technical reasons saw these projects take precedent over animated ones for mature audiences. However, the last few years have seen animated additions to shows like The Boys and The Witcher prove very popular, so it would not be too much of a stretch to believe that AMC are cooking up something similar for The Walking Dead.

Currently, the franchise has regained some of its lost appeal thanks to the recent run of “spin-off” shows that came in the wake of the flagship series’ conclusion at the end of Season 11. Fans are currently preparing for the release of Daryl Dixon: The Book of Carol this summer, with Dead City Season 2 coming later in the year. Where the franchise goes beyond that is unclear, but it has already been revealed that there are several more Walking Dead projects already being considered. An animated story could well be included in that, with or without Kirkman’s involvement.