San Diego Comic-Con roared back to life after two years off due to the COVID-19 pandemic just in time to host the final panel for AMC’s The Walking Dead. The post-apocalyptic zombie series has spent 11 seasons entertaining fans, and the upcoming final episodes promise to send off the series with a bang.
Although The Walking Dead is ending, zombie lovers have multiple spinoffs to look forward to. Andrew Lincoln (“Rick Grimes”) and Danai Gurira (“Michonne”) surprised fans by hitting the stage in the San Diego Convention Center and announcing a new spinoff series coming to AMC in 2023.
Following the panel in Hall H, cast members Norman Reedus, Seth Gilliam, Josh McDermitt, Cailey Fleming, Lauren Ridloff, and Michael James Shaw joined showrunner Angela Kang, executive producer/director Greg Nicotero, and The Walking Dead Universe’s Chief Content Officer Scott Gimple for the show’s final Comic-Con press conference.
It looks like we are seeing the smart walkers coming into the main show. How are we going to see the cast deal with that threat?
Angela Kang: “I think with the walkers in some ways it’s a throwback to some walkers we saw back in the very, very first season of The Walking Dead. But not everybody ever encountered those walkers; it’s almost like it was a variant that just was regional.
Any time there’s been a change to the rules, that means that our people just need to be that much more on their game because they’re realizing that the methods that they used to survive don’t quite work the same way. And so, our survivors being very, very smart, they are going to try to adjust to that. And it will just be one of many conflicts they are dealing with in the final block of the season.”
What is your biggest takeaway from working on this series?
Lauren Ridloff: “I think the biggest takeaway from this production would be at the end of the day the most important thing that we have really is our community. I think the things that we do is for our community. And what keeps us human is also our community and the things that we do for each other. And that is The Walking Dead – the things that you can see throughout the seasons. Whatever the storyline is, it’s always about the community.”
With the show ending, how important was it to stick the landing?
Angela Kang: “I think anytime you are tasked with ending a story – and this is true for any show – everybody wants to stick the landing. But particularly for us, this is something that’s been so important to our fans, the community that stuck with us, and for us, too. We are all passionate about this show. We love this show. We love working with each other, and so we want to do it well and do it right. I hope we’ve done that.
We have just been working on some of the post-production processes for the finale which Greg directed and I co-wrote, and many of this wonderful cast have important parts to play. I hope that the audience will go along on the ride with us.”
Greg Nicotero: “It’s definitely a challenge. Other shows if you’re talking about…you know, Game of Thrones had five seasons. Breaking Bad had six seasons. 11 seasons! Our story continued to evolve. The story really did change.
The exciting thing for me after season one is, okay, finally everybody else catches up to me and realizes how cool zombies are. I grew up in the George Romero world where Night of the Living Dead, Dawn of the Dead, that was sort of like my gossip. Frank Darabont used to say to me that the show was always about survival. He had always wanted to do a zombie apocalypse story. We talked about something years before The Walking Dead comic book even came out, so it was sort of like a match made in heaven when Frank put the ensemble cast together with Sarah, Jon, Steven, Melissa, and Norman. You know, the show certainly has evolved since then.
We differently felt like we had an obligation to make sure that we stuck the landing. That was very prevalent in our thinking. Everybody…all the actors and crew when we were on set, we’re like we can’t screw this up because all eyes genuinely end up on the last episode. You can talk about Seinfeld…you can talk about MASH…you can talk about all these great shows that we’ve loved, and most of the time the historical relevance of the show is judged on the last episode. So, we really struggled and agonized and buckled in to make sure that it served the fans of the show.
There were moments that I shot with each of these people to serve their characters that really went to the heart of the show.”
If you could choose to have one character who’s deceased come back, who would you pick?
Norman Reedus: “Hershel.”
Josh McDermitt: “I’m going to say Shane. I loved and hated him more than anybody. I just loved that he could be so right in his way of thinking, and you agree with him but you still hated the way he went about it. And I just loved how it didn’t matter what scene he was in, it was just so charged.
I would have loved to work with Jon Bernthal. I mean, he didn’t go that many episodes before I showed up so that would have been cool. I think the Governor and Hershel, too. They went the episode or two before I came on the show and I was like, ‘Oh, I can’t wait to meet David Morrissey and Scott Wilson!’ and they were gone. But definitely Bernthal, Shane.”
Greg Nicotero: “Glenn.”
Cailey Fleming: “I’ll say Carl.” (awws from the audience)
Michael James Shaw: “I hate being on the spot. The character that probably didn’t surface but Mercer and Max’s father.”
Seth Gilliam: “I would say Tyreese. Tyreese and his mighty hammer and his huge muscles and even bigger heart.”
Greg Nicotero: “Which I think was one of the best episodes we ever [shot]. We get text messages from Chad [L. Coleman] at like 2:00 in the morning. ‘Hey guys! How’s it going?’”
Seth Gilliam: “His going off episode was fantastic.”
I’d love to know everyone’s reaction to the news of the Rick and Michonne series.
Norman Reedus: [Laughing] “We knew already.”
Greg Nicotero: “It feels like a long time ago that they left the show, I guess, story-wise. But having been together for so long and then the story continues, so you know we all keep in touch and we all talk all the time. So, it was conversations about the movie and conversations about this, and I remember Norman said one of the most interesting quotes to me one day. He said, ‘Man, if Rick and Daryl ever got together…I like being Robin to his Batman.’ And I loved that quote.”
Norman Reedus: “It lets you be more of an a**hole if you’re Robin, I found out. Didn’t Bernthal get offered Rick at one point and he chose Shane instead, I think for the same reason maybe?”
Scott Gimple: “I don’t know if it was a choice, but he was in the running.”
When it comes to the evolution of your characters, what is the one characteristic that impresses you the most?
Norman Reedus: “I think his honesty. He’s very honest. He doesn’t really lie to anybody. He says what he means, means what he says. I like that.”
Josh McDermitt: “For Eugene, I would say his heart and selflessness. I think that obviously when we meet him, he’s a very selfish man. And I think where he is now, he would lay down his life for his friends if it meant that his friends could continue fighting the good fight. That, to me, is a great evolution for the guy.”
Seth Gilliam: “Is honesty taken? [Pointing at Norman] You already said that. I would go with Father Gabriel’s furor and resiliency. I think the kind of a combination…I think he’s got a burning desire to do the right thing by those that he cares about and those that he loves. He’s got a burning cauldron in him that will set ablaze anything around him that threatens that. I think his furor…his desire to be closer to God and then reject God and accept himself – I think all those kinds of things.”
Lauren Ridloff: “I would probably say Connie’s stalwartness. I think she’s just brave. She’s not the kind of woman that would just tuck her tail back and run. She would go back. She does what she believes in; she believes what is right. She supports Daryl in regard to Lydia, and she goes back into the cave to help Magna.
I think she believes in what she does in her actions that she takes. She’s willing to sacrifice for the sake of her community.”
Cailey Fleming: “I love how Judith always wants to make sure her family’s protected, and she always wants to do what’s right – even if that means she has to fight for it.”
Michael James Shaw: “I guess for me it was his unyielding loyalty, to the point where it almost gets him in trouble. He wants to keep people safe and sometimes that task is a little bigger than what he’s expecting, or it may take a different choice to create that safety for his loved ones. He’s got to be willing to look outside the box for that.”
Which character alive, deceased, or even your own character, do you feel you connected with the most?
Norman Reedus: “I’d say Carol and Rick, probably the most for Daryl. For obvious reasons, if you watch the show. [Joking] I don’t even like the rest of them. I know Connie and Daryl connected quite a bit. Judith. I connected with all these guys, actually.”
Josh McDermitt: “Dale. I mean the older I get, the more balanced in my views I become of just like, ‘Hey, what’s the right thing? How do we make sure I’m doing the right thing?’”
Norman Reedus: “Oh wait, did I answer that wrong? Is this who Norman connects with or who Daryl connected with?”
Norman.
Norman Reedus: “Oh, sh*t, sorry! Let me think…Dog, maybe.”
Seth Gilliam: “I’m drawn to Judith. I’m drawn to what’s it like to grow up as a child in a zombie apocalypse and have all this history of heroism that rains down on your head. People coming to depend on you for some kind of leadership position, and you are still dealing with maturing and growing. Your brain is still developing, you know?
I think is a fascinating character that Cailey just did an amazing job with. I think that I could rock that character, too.”
Lauren Ridloff: “Please don’t get me wrong but I have to say Connie because I feel like it is my job as an actor to really connect with the character I’m portraying. So, of course, I love the characters on the show, but which character do I actually connect with mostly? The one I actually have to play. What she does becomes mine, and that becomes Connie.”
Michael James Shaw: “From my experience this past season I think Mercer and Mike connect well with Angel (Kelly). It’s a good vibe. It’s like you share that look on set and it’s like, ‘Oh, we cool.’ That energy, I love it.”
