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‘The Walking Dead’ Creator Robert Kirkman Apologizes For The Finale Cliffhanger And Announces Season 7 Premiere Date

By Chrissie Williams
Published on: 04:35 PST, May 11, 2016

Ever since the Walking Dead Season 6 finale aired on April 3, the fans were not able to stop talking about the way the season ended. The season finale ended with a cliffhanger that has the fans talking even five weeks later. Series creator Robert Kirkman broke his silence and addressed why the episode had to be and what it could mean for the future of the show.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9T_lnZNlgy4

Series creator Robert Kirkman broke his silence and addressed why the episode had to be and what it could mean for the future of the show. Kirkman issued an apology (kind of) and explained why the episode was written in that particular way and gave insight to what you could see in the future for Negan.

Robert had no other choice but to address the viewers because they were still upset about how the season ended. They felt they deserved more closure to the season and felt leaving the uncertainty about Negan murder victim brought more hype to the series. It’s still unclear who the victim was, although the speculation is that Glenn was the one getting beaten by the baseball bat.

HNGN reported that Kirkman wrote his audience a letter in the recent issue of his comic book series and addressed the fan’s disapproval of the Season 6 finale.

“Okay, the season 6 finale has certainly caused a fervor online. EVERYONE IS TALKING ABOUT IT. Some people love it. Some people are indifferent. Some people HATE it. We weren’t trying to game the audience, we weren’t trying to FORCE you to come back for season 7…. we hope you were always planning on doing that and still plan on doing that. We did want you talk. And talk you are.

“The speculation, the frustration, the possibilities, the theories… honestly, in my mind… that stuff is FUN. I honestly feel like that’s something fun for the fans to do during the break. Was it Spencer? Could it have been Morgan? What about Carol? Did Negan kill Jesus?! (Note, none of them were there… I’m not giving ANYTHING away.) I know people are angry over this, but that wasn’t our intent. The idea was that after 6 seasons of the show, we wanted to stay on your mind and give you something to talk about.”

Kirkman admitted that a fan-favorite character was dead. He claimed they wanted to give their fans hope that their favorite character may not have died, so they don’t have to grieve their death. They wanted to bring some uncertainty to the death, because after five weeks, no one truly knows who Negan killed — it’s all just speculation and theories.

“And think of it this way… a character you love and are going to miss is DEAD, and we gave you a few extra months to hope, to not grieve. Is there uncertainty? Yes. But that was kind of the idea. But seriously. Everyone on TWD team wanted to do something cool. We wanted to do something different and we did it to change things up, get people excited and keep this show on your mind.”

Robert admitted that his plan backfired, and some of the fans were not happy with the result. He apologized for upsetting the audience and promises that Season 7 “will be awesome.” Robert revealed that Season 6 was important because it set the wheels in motion for a mind-blowing scene that will be a focal point in Season 7. Kirkman ended his letter with a teaser, “there’s a LOT more for Negan to do. Be afraid… be very afraid. And excited!”

It looks like Kirkman confirmed what many fans believed to be true: They were aiming for “a cool episode” and maybe didn’t think about the fan backlash about the ending beforehand. Melty reports that Season 7 of The Walking Dead premieres on October 9 on AMC.

In Season 7, a brand-new community will be introduced to the group, and a character named Ezekiel will enter into the storyline, Robert Kirkman revealed. He is the leader of the Kingdom community and said to “be wise, friendly, and comforting.” Stay tuned for more Walking Dead spoilers, casting scoops, and news in the coming months leading into the Season 7 premiere.

[Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images]

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