‘The Walking Dead’: The creative team talks about the end, that necessary return and the future of the saga

The long journey of zombies has come to an end. ‘The Walking Dead’ has just ended, one of the most famous apocalyptic series in the history of television. ‘Rest in peace’ is the name of the chapter that has dealt with ending the broadcast of the supernatural series after 12 years and 11 seasons. On the occasion of the closing of a long stage, the team of ‘The Walking Dead’ spoke about the final chapter, its epilogue and the future of the franchise.

SPOILERS WARNING!

*If you haven’t yet seen the final episode of ‘The Walking Dead’, read no further! Let us review one of the most important events of the end.

In the last minutes of “Rest in Peace”, Andrew Lincoln and Danai Gurira reprise their roles of Rick and Michonne respectively following their last appearances in season 9 (Rick) and season 10 (Michonne). The executive producer of the series and director of the final chapter, Greg Nicotero, revealed in an interview for Comicbook that he does not contemplate an ending without Rick, one of the most loved characters by the TWD audience: “The show has always been Rick Grimes’ journey. You really can’t finish the story of ‘The Walking Dead’ without Rick Grimes. It didn’t feel right, it didn’t feel authentic.”

While it was clear that he wanted Rick at the end, Nicotero also spoke about the process of making this idea and the doubts the creative team had about it due to how his return would affect the characters in the series and how it would interfere in their textures: “We didn’t want it to be a situation where zombies are fighting and Rick Grimes shows up to save the day. We wanted to serve the story arc that the writers had created over the last 30 episodes, but we also couldn’t end “The Walking Dead” with Rick Grimes flying off in a helicopter and never mentioning him again. So it was very important for us to end the series the way it started, which is to see who this person is and where they are in their journey.”

In the “RIP” scene where Rick appears, it is revealed what happened after Rick’s tragic helicopter crash and what happened to Michonne, who since leaving the series has been on a mission to find him and bring him back to her family . . Last we know of Rick, he was seriously injured after blowing up a bridge to save his family from a horde of walkers and disappeared aboard a Civic Republic military helicopter. It is eventually revealed that Rick is a recipient of this group and from his clothing and weaponry that he is a worker in decontamination centers where mass sacrifices are made to purify entire walker states. The director explained that the brief appearance of the characters serves as a sign that his story continues: “The idea was really that it was these short, impressionistic images that tell us that Rick is still alive and still fighting to get home, and Michonne is out there struggling to find him.”

Rick and Michonne’s voiceovers intertwine in the finale as they narrate the scene, each writes a letter to their loved ones that doubles as a tribute to the characters, dead, alive, and lost, who have been a part of ‘The Walking Dead,’ an 11-season, 12-year, 177-episode adventure. Nicotero spoke from his point of view of the scene: “At that particular moment, they’re thinking about each other and they’re thinking about the people they love and the people they’ve lost. And to do that and know that the reason they’re still in their fight is for those people who have lost and that they love… That’s what it was about. And without a doubt, I feel like we’ve captured that spirit and the spirit of moving forward with what the world has in store for them.”

The final scene continues with Michonne riding into a canyon overrun by an undead horde. On a riverbank outside the Civic Republic, a helicopter thwarts Rick’s escape attempt, but Rick broadcasts his hope to the public. At the surrender order, Rick smiles and says “we are the ones who live”the same words her daughter Judith says elsewhere to her older brother, dialogues that emphasize that we still have to wait for the end of Rick, his children and Michonne.

Keep on…

Although it is true that “The Walking Dead” has come to an end, the franchise still has a long way to go, several spin-offs of this apocalyptic universe have been confirmed. One that has been known to exist for a few years and that we can consider having a little prologue of in “RIP”, is the spin-off about Rick and Michonne. This series will begin production in January and its premiere is scheduled for the end of 2023 on AMC and AMC+ in the United States and on FOX in Spain, if everything continues to work as it has been up to now. In the words of AMC “This series presents an epic love story of two characters changed by a world that is not the same. Separated by distance. By an unstoppable power. By the ghosts of who they used to be. Rick and Michonne are forced into another world. , one built on that war against the dead…And ultimately a war against the living as well.Can they find each other and take back who they were in a place and situation unlike any they’ve ever known?enemies?lovers “Casualties? Victors? If they lose each other, are they alive or will they discover that they too are undead?”

The spinoff of these characters is not the only one in development, we will also see one on Maggie and Negan and one dedicated to Daryl. “TWD” showrunner Angela Kang told Deadline that the final chapter has a dual focus: “It was very important for us to try to close the chapter on this series and this story, but we know we had to leave some doors open to enter future stories.”

Kang also spoke about the Rick and Michonne spin-off: “That was the trickiest because we were trying to keep it a secret and things leaked left and right throughout the season. We were like, How do we keep this tight? I think we have to get back to Rick and Michonne somehow. For many fans it will be satisfying to see them and everyone agreed with that idea. However, the truth is that for a long time, we didn’t know if it was going to happen.” Regarding the spinoff’s little introduction at the end of TWD and how Andrew Lincoln and Danai Gurira lived it, the showunner commented that “It was very important to Andy, but I also think about Danai, which felt like it wasn’t just an epilogue, but somehow related to the ending. So, we tried to do that and we hope people enjoy watching two of our favorites.