AMC Has Plans to Turn The Walking Dead Into a Major Franchise
The Walking Dead is as difficult to put down as the walkers themselves. In fact, it seems to be spreading. Andrew Lincoln is exiting the original series, but that still isn’t the kill shot that will put this franchise down. And why should it? So many strong characters have emerged over the course of the series. Rick would never have made it this far without Michonne (Danai Gurira), Daryl (Norman Reedus), Maggie (Lauren Cohan) or Carol (Melissa McBride). Bloomberg is reporting that even long after those characters’ stories end, the zombie apocalypse will rage on. AMC is planning several spinoff projects based on the graphic novels.
The network is reportedly in discussions with media companies to produce future series and movies. The Walking Dead is already eight years in and spinoff series Fear the Walking Dead has been on the air for three. AMC is reportedly hoping the franchise will continue to produce content for another decade. To put that in perspective, Marvel films have been coming out for that long now. This move would nearly double the run of the zombie survival show.
Rather than airing on the network, AMC is eyeing a streaming service home for the upcoming projects. Previous seasons of The Walking Dead are currently licensed to Netflix and Fear the Walking Dead is available on Hulu. Following the release of Mad Men and Breaking Bad, The Walking Dead was among the high concept original content wave that redefined AMC. Moving to new content on a streaming service could continue the company’s creative evolution.
“If we manage it properly it has a long life, which is not to say it will always look like a TV series,” AMC CEO Josh Sapan said. Safe to say that finding a cure for ‘turning’ will not be part of the storyline this season.
The Walking Dead returns for a 9th season October 7.
Featured Image: Andrew Lincoln as Rick Grimes – The Walking Dead _ Season 8, Episode 16 – Photo Credit: Gene Page/AMC
