AMC’s hit series The Walking Dead will return to this fall and we know fans are eager to learn more about what the future holds for the characters. The Hollywood Reporter caught up with series creator and executive producer Robert Kirkman to talk about the upcoming episodes and he gave a lot of details.
Warning: Full on spoilers for season 3 of The Walking Dead!
According to Kirkman, like previous seasons, season 4 won’t pick up exactly where season 3 left off.
“There’s going to be a bit of a time jump….it’s only a few months, we’re not nailing down the exact number of days or anything like that. The prison that we see is a very different prison and the characters that we see are very different from the last time we saw them. We go into season four with characters you’ve known for four years and still find new things to explore with them and new aspects of their character and see that they are growing and changing in extremely dramatic ways due to the strains that this world has put upon them.”
With season 3 focusing on the stories going on at the prison and Woodbury, and one of those no longer being around, season 4 is poised to have a very different style from its predecessor.
“We’re telling completely different stories. While the Governor is still out there and still a threat, we’re going to see him in a new light and he won’t appear until we least expect it. I don’t think people are really going to be able to anticipate what we do with the Governor; it’s going to be radically different. Once that story unfolds over the course of this season, people will see this is a very different story from season three and we are breaking some new ground with these characters.
Kirkman also updated on where some of the show’s characters motivations will be during the season, including new comer Bob Stookey, played by Larry Gillard Jr.
“Rick is doing something very different, but his goals are still the same: keep these kids safe and growing up…As we meet Michonne coming back this season, she’s on a mission to hunt down the Governor. It’s something she’s very obsessed with. It’s big part of her character this season. She did lose Andrea and she lost her because of the Governor. She’s not willing to let that guy go or be out there. It’s something that may possibly be to her detriment, the fact that she’s so dedicated to finding this person….Bob will be someone who is familiar to the comic and novel audience but we’re definitely not married to doing those stories and could do different things there.”
When asked about the difference in new show runner Scott Gimple’s style from Glen Mazzara and Frank Darabont, Kirkman said:
“It’s a much more character-based story. It’s going to be more focused on who these characters are and what they’re going through. To a certain extent, we got away from that a little bit in season three. Coming into season four, we’re definitely going to know a lot more about these people so it will be that much more gut-wrenching and worse when we lose these characters.”
In closing Kirkman says the series will be “remixing” some ideas from the comic book and some that are direct adaptations.
“On closer adaptation: “We are definitely going in some new directions and this will continue to be a different take on the material form the comics but there will possibly be some scenes that are a little bit closer to the comic than we’ve done in the past. Season four probably has the most number of scenes that are adapted directly from the comic series or very close to what we did. A good deal of that is from Scott and the way he views that material and puts forth that extra effort to work it into the show in a way that it all works.”
“The Walking Dead” will return this October with another 16-episode season.
