Scott Gimple, the architect of The Walking Dead universe and the guy producing the Rick Grimes’ movies, sat down with Entertainment Weekly to answer questions about Andrew Lincoln’s spin-off films. With all due respect to Mr. Gimple, it is remarkable how he managed to answer 10 questions about the Rick Grimes films without saying very much at all.
Here’s what we know about the Rick Grimes’ movies after Gimple’s conversation with EW. No director is attached; the script is not finished; the plan is for three movies, but that may change; the movies will be released theatrically, but will also eventually be made available on TV; Danai Gurira’s Michonne may or may not be in the films; and the scale of the film and the budget will be bigger.
Basically, it’s been over a year since Andrew Lincoln left The Walking Dead and the Rick Grimes’ movies were announced, but they haven’t been able to nail down exactly how the movies will work. In fact, Gimple says that they have a “couple of different plans that we’re going with depending on a couple of different factors.”
It’s understandable why it is taking so long. The movie is expected to weave in plot elements from all three The Walking Dead series and the various communities coming into existence on the three shows. In a way, it’s a moving target, and the Rick Grimes’ movies have to find a release date, figure out where Gimple wants all three series to be at that point, and then work backwards from there on the series while developing a script for a Rick Grimes’ movie that will allow all of these elements to intersect at just the right moment.
There’s obviously a lot of pressure, because “The Walking Dead universe,” in many ways, is predicated on these Rick Grimes’ movies, and since they will be released theatrically and with a bigger budget, there’s an expectation that the films will be bigger and bolder. I am also guessing that, since they are being released in movie theaters, that Gimple will also want to make them accessible for people who do not watch all three shows or any of the three shows.
It’s a tough needle to thread, in other words, and if there is still some lack of clarity, it’s probably because of all the moving elements, which includes not only storylines, but the availability of the cast, and even how successful The Walking Dead: World Beyond ends up being. In other words: Stay tuned.
(Via EW)
