Robert Kirkman, creator of The Walking Dead comic and Executive Producer of the series, explains what it’s like to bring his story to life and witness the end of the world (or at least the end of Atlanta) in the process.
Warning: The following contains plot spoilers for The Walking Dead comic series.
Q: You started writing The Walking Dead in 2003. What’s it like to finally be on set?
A: “Surreal,” I guess, is a word I’ve been saying a lot. “Amazing” is another word. I was on a movie set last summer that was like a big budget blockbuster, and before I got out here I told myself, “I’m not going to be seeing the same kind of stuff because they don’t have a budget like a summer blockbuster.” But you know what? It’s almost bigger. The first day I was here was the day after they had flipped the car and there was a big shootout that we saw. It was just absolutely mind-blowing.
Q: Are you finding things are being physically realized as you had imagined them?
A: Everyone is really trying to do good by the comic, and there are scenes that are straight out of it. I think that fans are just going to be thrilled. But at the same time, [Frank Darabont] is vastly improving the material. And there are things here and there that along the way I should have caught, but didn’t. There’s some amazing stuff he added for Morgan’s character in the Pilot episode that’s just not in the comic. It was back story, but he handles it in a way that just really brings it to the forefront. It’s like, Morgan, that guy is an awesome character!