‘The Walking Dead’ Showrunner Scott Gimple Teases Major Departure From The Comics, ‘TWD’ To Hit The Big Screen Soon?

Season 7 of The Walking Dead has featured a few iconic moments from the comic books. But as members of The Kingdom and Hilltop Colony prepare for war against Negan and the Saviors, producers might surprise fans with a major departure from the graphic novels.

According to Comic Book, executive producer Scott Gimple teased that the March to War and All Out War story lines from the comics might get axed from the show. How will impact the story moving forward? “This could be a huge departure from the book,” Gimple explained.

“This could be it. There might not be a rebellion. I wouldn’t want to say that there absolutely will be one, but I would also say it’s not a crazy thing to posit that. As far as anything that could possibly move him towards that, if that even were to happen, this is definitely a wait and see.”

Despite the tease, Gimple admitted that he relies heavily on the comics for future direction. An outright change is not likely, though smaller elements in the comics could see significant expansion as Season 7 unfolds.

“The comic is absolutely the basis for the story moving forward and I’ve always followed the belief of following the story from the book,” he stated. “That said, accentuating it in places and extrapolating things that are maybe even just mentioned in the book, playing them out even more fully, and then taking different elements from the book and sort of assigning them to different places really just to bring about some of the feelings and reactions I had when I initially read the book.”

According to Cinema Blend, The Walking Dead is currently in the middle of the March to War storyline, which includes the introduction of new and exciting characters. It also dives deeper into Negan’s vicious rule, which sparks an alliance between Rick, Jesus, and Ezekiel.

Of course, if Gimple switches things up, then all-out war might not become a reality. There are reasons why Gimple and company would make such a monumental decision. For starters, TWD could extend the march to war in order balance the stories pacing this season, especially after it rushed Negan’s takeover last year.

After all, catching up to the comics by the start of Season 8 would not be an ideal situation. Even more, it would be a waste of talent to get rid of Negan so quickly. Jeffrey Dean Morgan’s character has become one of the show’s best villains to date and he needs to stick around for at least the remainder of Season 7.

Gimple has plenty of options at his disposal to expand the build up to war. Indeed, his comments indicate that exploring the smaller elements from the comic book will be a tactic to keep Negan around for a bit longer than expected.

That being said, making big changes to the original storyline is a huge gamble. Fans have already gone crazy over previous changes and probably won’t react well if the show diverges too much from the source material.

In addition to the changes on the small screen, Wet Paint is reporting that The Walking Dead might be adapted to a feature-length film. Although no plans have been made yet, Gimple is already starting to think about how a TWD movie would look like.

When asked about a potential movie, Gimple teased that Edward James Olmos, Matthew Fox, and William Shatner would make great additions. The showrunner teased that Fox could easily play the Governor and Shatner would fill the part of Sheriff Rick Grimes.

All kidding aside, Den of Geek reports that Gimple thinks a movie adaption is a great idea.

“That question comes up every now and again,” he said. “I’m sure one way or another, one day, it’ll happen. I think it would be cool.”

No official word regarding a Walking Dead movie has been announced and it likely won’t happen while the show is still going strong. Given how successful the TV show has been as of late, there’s no telling when its run will end.

“William Shatner as Rick. We’ll get Edward James Olmos as Daryl. Hit all the big shows!” Simple added. “Matthew Fox as the Governor!”

While fans await the possibility of a Walking Dead film, Wet Paint reports that the series is gearing up for an epic Thanksgiving weekend. In addition to a longer Season 7 premiere, this week’s episode clocks in at over 70 minutes.

The installment, titled “Swear,” centers on Tara and Heath’s return, both of whom have been gone ever since Negan took over operations in Alexandria. At the same time, the next episode will be another 90-minute affair that explores Negan’s complicated storyline with Carl.

Fans can watch new episodes of The Walking Dead Sunday nights on AMC, check out a preview of the next all-new episode below.

[Featured Image by Kevin Winter/Getty Images]