AMC’s zombie drama series ‘The Walking Dead’ has a long way to go but creator Robert Kirkman is assuring fans that he already has an ending in mind when the hit blockbuster show comes to a conclusion.
“It’s a very popular show, and [the executives at AMC] seem to want it to go for 50 seasons. And it may go for 50 seasons, but there is definitely an end point at some point,” Kirkman told Marc Maron during a visit to the comedian’s WTF podcast.
Maron asked Kirkman whether he would think about offering a solution to the zombie problem altogether, and Kirkman said, “Maybe. You never know. I do hope that ‘The Walking Dead’ goes on long enough that when it ends, it’s like, ‘good thing we took care of those zombies.'”
The series creator also believes that, despite some viewers describing the series as a “very bleak” one, it remains a hopeful story about survivors overcoming the circumstances .
Although the series enters its sixth season this year and is taking a long time to dig up possible solutions to the apocalyptic situation, Kirkman reassures fans that there could be a favorable ending to it all.
Meanwhile, in a recent Reddit AMA, the 36-year-old comic book writer revealed that the source material still has ample stories left to tell.
“I do plan on doing at least 300 issues, but if I’m having this much fun then I won’t stop there,” he stated. “Also, if I suddenly start having a lot LESS fun, I may end it earlier, but I don’t see that happening. I’m in for the long haul, and [artist] Charlie Adlard is too.”
In relation to the TV series, executive producer Dave Alpert announced that the 2014 Produced By conference that its writers have created plotlines that can expand to season 12, if AMC prefers to offer a long-term opportunity for the hit show.
“I happen to love working from source material, specifically because we have a pretty good idea of what season 10 is gonna be,” he said, as pointed out by IndieWire. “We know where season 11 and 12 … we have benchmarks and milestones for those seasons if we’re lucky enough to get there.”
In addition, Kirkman explained how the comics and the TV program are being aligned with each other. Particularly, for every season, the ‘Walking Dead’ team takes into consideration how the characters fit into the story, such as Daryl Dixon (Norman Reedus) who is out of the comics or Carol (Melissa McBride) who should have died earlier in the story.
He also mentioned about mulling over important details relating to Andrea (Laurie Holden) who was already killed off in the show but is still alive in the comics.
“There’s a lot of new stuff that gets put into the show,” Kirkman promised.
AMC’s “The Walking Dead” season six is set for a premiere at 9 p.m. on Oct. 11 while its companion series titled “Fear the Walking Dead” debuts its first season at 9 p.m. on Aug. 23.