Robert Kirkman appeared at the Creator Activism panel at SXSW Interactive on Saturday. He discussed a variety of topics including his new Outcast series on Cinemax and the upcoming film Air, starring Norman Reedus. According to EW, Kirkman included a pertinent detail regarding the timeline of AMC’s upcoming, and still officially untitled, companion series to The Walking Dead.
The timeline is taking place a little bit earlier than the original show. Rick Grimes woke up from a coma and was like, ‘Oh, man, zombies, weird!’ We’re going to possibly see that unfold a little more in the other show. But I wouldn’t call it ‘prequel’ because the entirety of the show is not going take place before [The Walking Dead]. It will eventually form a path running concurrently.”
The concept of the two series possibly crossing over is an intriguing one to be sure. However, Kirkman only hinted at the crossover possibility being the connective nature of each show’s narrative structure and how those elements may play out in the viewer’s own mind.
”One thing that we’re doing with the new show that we’re trying with everything is it’s not derivative,” he said. “It’s standing on its own. You can watch it by itself and get your own experience. But if you are watching both shows there are things like, ‘Oh they discovered this, or they discovered that in a different way.’ There are a lot of things about The Walking Dead world these characters have to learn or figure out to get by. And there may be some things that are discovered in the companion show that haven’t been discovered in the other show yet. So there could be like a thing where, ‘Oh, they encountered a zombie in season 4 in The Walking Dead that could do this and now we know why that was.’ So we’re going to be doing things like that are going to be pretty cool, but for the most part [the two shows] should be able to stand alone.”
Between his work with both The Walking Dead series, The Walking Dead first person shooter currently in development, and his other multiple projects, you probably won’t be surprised where his creative preference lies:
“I prefer working in comics. I think other people think TV is awesome. And certainly in a numbers basis, more people watch TV. But comics are better – you just all haven’t realized it yet,” he said, drawing cheers.
AMC recently ordered two seasons of the companion series, which will premiere late this summer.
(H/T: Entertainment Weekly / Austin 360 / Hero Complex / USA Today)
