Frank Darabont reveals the character arc he had planned for Laurie Holden’s character Andrea in THE WALKING DEAD

So many actors have appeared in the universe of The walking dead for the past eleven seasons. Very few characters from Season 1 lasted to the end, and many new faces have come and gone since the show’s inception in 2010. Some characters met unexpected ends that surprised fans, as they differed from the storylines of their comic book counterparts, but it kept the show moving in surprising ways.

In a recent interview with /Film, The walking dead creator and original showrunner, Franco Darabontspoke about the story arc he had planned for the character of Andrea, played by the actress Laurie Holden. In the series, Andrea met her untimely demise at the end of the third season. In the comics, Andrea continued to develop a relationship with protagonist Rick Grimes, and it lasted until issue #167. While Andrea was meant to last longer, Darabont explains that she would have pushed her story in a different direction:

“Laurie’s role on ‘The Walking Dead’ was intended by me to have a substantial character arc that never transpired. She would go from being a mentally disturbed, super self-centered, severely traumatized, angry girl to the opposite extreme of the specter: their most trusted soldier, an ace sniper, and a grown woman dedicated to self-sacrifice and the protection of the group. And her relationship with Dale would blossom into a very deep May-Dec situation, a true marriage based about deep and lasting feelings and respect. I aim for characters and situations based on messy and complicated feelings, as happens in life. And no, she was never meant to be a love interest for Rick, as I read somewhere. It was never meant to be thrown away as zombie food. Nor was Dale, for that matter.”

This is very different from how it turned out! Dale was killed off before Andrea, and the show has never alluded to a relationship between the two. I was glad Andrea didn’t end up with Rick, because her character really bothered me. But I loved Dale, and perhaps she would have been more loving in a relationship with him. Who knows? It did not happen, and now The walking dead he took his last bow.

We have three new must-see shows, including one that will follow Daryl in Paris, one about Negan and Maggie in New York City, and another about Rick and Michonne. Are you looking forward to the future of the TWD universe?