AMC Reportedly Expanding ‘The Walking Dead’ Universe With Movies, More Shows
Get ready for a total zombie takeover. Earlier this week, AMC Networks CEO Josh Sapan teased an expansion of The Walking Dead universe, which would extend through the next 10 years — if not longer. Now, a new report has shed some light on what those plans would entail, including a feature film, more shows and spinoffs, and a version of the hit series set in a different country.
The premise of The Walking Dead is such that it could theoretically go on, well, forever: A group of people struggle to survive and figure out what it means to live in a world ravaged by undead flesh-eaters. It’s a story that can be adapted to just about any medium (and pretty much has), and could easily be tailored to any number of settings. According to a new report in Bloomberg, AMC is aiming to continue expanding The Walking Dead franchise, which began life as a hit graphic novel series before becoming a hit TV show — and a spinoff.
The network’s plans to keep the franchise running for the next decade or more are detailed below:
The company, which owns the popular zombie-apocalypse series, plans to produce multiple movies and new TV shows based on the graphic novels that spawned the series, according to people familiar with the plans. AMC has talked to several large media companies about partnering on the projects, which collectively could cost several hundred million dollars.
Walking Dead producer Scott Gimple was promoted to chief content officer of both the series and its spinoff, Fear the Walking Dead, back in January. Per the report, Gimple “is overseeing development of different narrative possibilities,” including “setting at least one series in another country.”
None of this is particularly surprising: The Walking Dead continues to be a massive hit for AMC, and even with two of its leads — Andrew Lincoln and Lauren Cohan — leaving the series in its upcoming ninth season, interest remains high. That‘s thanks in no small part to a great ensemble cast anchored by Norman Reedus, Melissa McBride and Danai Gurira — all of whom have, like Lincoln and Cohan, been with the series since its first season.
Perhaps the only surprising thing about this latest development is that it took AMC this long to get around to expanding the franchise universe. The very thing that makes The Walking Dead such an interesting premise, however, also tends to be the series’ greatest weakness: It can get a bit redundant watching these people go from one community to another, only to inevitably encounter someone with sinister ideas about survival. But Lincoln and Cohan’s exit — like Steven Yeun before them — promises to shake things up a bit.
Meanwhile, Fear The Walking Dead has similarly proven that no one — not even a series regular like Kim Dickens — is safe from the zombie apocalypse.