The Walking Dead breaks a rule from the comics by explaining the origin of the zombie virus, but this is necessary as the franchise expands.
Summary
- The Walking Dead franchise has broken a rule by revealing the origin of the zombie virus, which was kept secret in the comics for almost 20 years.
- Explaining the origins of the virus became necessary as the source material has been used up and more spinoffs are being developed. The show needs to introduce new mysteries to keep the story fresh.
- While the mystery of the virus was deemed vital in the past, the adapted world of The Walking Dead has outgrown this rule and it is now necessary to override it for the sake of the show’s quality and longevity.
The long-running TV franchise The Walking Dead broke a massive rule from the comics by revealing a secret that was closely guarded for almost 20 years. Based on Robert Kirkman’s zombie apocalypse comic book series, AMC’s TV adaptation of The Walking Dead ran for 11 seasons. It spawned several spinoffs including Fear the Walking Dead, The Walking Dead: World Beyond, and Tales of the Walking Dead. The saga has now moved away from the group of survivors first led by Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) with subsequent spinoffs focusing on entirely new groups of characters or particular members of the original cast, the latter category including Daryl Dixon (Norman Reedus), Maggie Rhee (Lauren Cohan), and Negan Smith (Jeffrey Dean Morgan).
The Walking Dead is available on Netflix, while the other TWD series are exclusively available on AMC+.
For example, World Beyond takes place a decade after the beginning of the flagship series in The Walking Dead timeline and focuses on the first generation to come of age since the outbreak. This two-season spinoff also expands the world of The Walking Dead by delving into the society of the Civil Republic and the immoral practices of its armed forces, the Civil Republic Military (CRM). However, from the comics’ inception in 2003 and through most of World Beyond, one key detail about the setting remained shrouded in mystery. That is until the post-credits scene of the finale of World Beyond seemingly confirms that the zombie virus originated in France.
The Walking Dead Is Breaking A Comic Rule By Explaining The Virus
By revealing the origins of the virus, The Walking Dead franchise violated a cardinal rule of the comics: to never explain zombies exist. With more spinoffs coming and the source material long used up, addressing the origins of the virus became unavoidable. In addition to World Beyond, more hints about the team of French scientists and their work are expected to come forward in The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live. This spinoff will feature the reunion of Grimes and his partner Michonne (Danai Gurira), with the CRM also appearing as an antagonistic force.
For a long time, this blank space in The Walking Dead’s world-building was deemed vital: at SDCC in 2017, Kirkman argued that explaining the outbreak would make the series “boring.” Kirkman’s statements suggest that the inherent enigma of the zombie virus is what makes the story so intriguing, and answering this question would be detrimental to the show’s quality. However, while abandoning a central plot element of the comics will bring controversy, the adapted world has outgrown Kirkman’s initial vision, and it has become necessary to override this rule.
Why The Walking Dead NEEDS To Break Its Virus Rule
In addition to the challenge of continuously developing original storylines, there is another reason to finally explain the virus. While a sense of mystery is a crucial part of the show’s tone if it is the same mystery for too long, it will grow stale. By slowly revealing details about the circumstances that led to a full-scale zombie apocalypse, the writers are introducing new mysteries and keeping the story fresh. The viewers are now asking questions such as what the French scientists were trying to do when they created the virus and how things went so horribly wrong. It’s also fair to wonder how the appearance of variants is related to the initial outbreak.
It took more than 10 years for the barest information to be revealed, and the writers will take their time with the remaining pieces of the story. The spinoff The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon takes place in France, but Daryl Dixon season 1 gave no absolute answers and only heightened the mystery of the French lab. The only allusions to the initial outbreak were some hints that the main antagonist Genet may have knowledge of these events. Viewers previously assumed that the spinoff’s setting meant the series would reveal more about the virus’ origins. However, since Dixon is an original character who did not appear in the comics, it would be fitting if his show were used as a vehicle for this original storyline, ushering in a new era of The Walking Dead.
