‘Walking Dead’ Season 7: Everybody Has ‘An Expiration Date,’ Warns Producer
Warning: This article could contain Walking Dead Season 7 spoilers.
After six months of anxious waiting and furious speculation, fans of The Walking Dead are finally going to learn who Negan killed when they watch the Season 7 premiere on AMC this Sunday. As difficult as it will be to say goodbye to at least one beloved main character, viewers shouldn’t necessarily expect the victim of Negan’s brutal handiwork to be the only death of Season 7, according to Walking Dead executive producer Gale Anne Hurd.
In an interview with Time, Hurd was asked if there were any Walking Dead characters whose deaths would cause the fans to revolt, and she seemed to indicate that no one is safe in the zombie apocalypse series.
“I have no idea,” she said. “That’s pure speculation, but I do think there are shows where you can’t deny the passion fans have for a particular character. But at the same time, the reason the show continues to be part of the pop culture dialogue seven years in is because we try to keep all that noise to the side. We respect the fans but we also want to remain true not only to the underpinnings of the comic book but to where the characters are in their journeys. And there’s going to be an expiration date for everybody.”
As for fans trying to identify Negan’s victim by rewatching the last scene of the Season 6 finale, Hurd said the Walking Dead creators “didn’t intend to have any clues so I couldn’t tell you if there were” any in the episode.
She also addressed rumors that the opening sequence of Walking Dead Season 7 is the most violent in the show’s history.
“We’ve had a lot of violence. I mean let’s face it, Rick bit someone’s throat out. That’s not what we intend. We only do things because of the impact those moments have on the characters on the show so that the audience is feeling the same things that those characters are.”
In another interview, Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman told the Hollywood Reporter that the main character death that occurs in the Season 7 premiere jumpstarts the season and moves the series in a new direction, as the characters separate into four distinct communities.
“It’s a very dangerous season,” Kirkman explained. “We hit the ground running with the first episode and that really sets the tone for this. Negan is ever-present. This isn’t the end of his story; this isn’t any kind of singular event. This is the introduction of a new status quo in this world and it’ll make the show more dangerous than it’s ever been. And that’s going to continue throughout the season. I said leading up to the end of Season 6 that Negan changes everything in every way you can imagine, and Season 7 will prove that.”
You. Are. It. #MeetLucille, she’s awesome: https://t.co/1IcjCS8z7J #TWD pic.twitter.com/FVI9i7gc7F
— The Walking Dead (@WalkingDead_AMC) October 19, 2016
And what of the spoiler that more than one main character falls victim to Negan’s barb-wired bat Lucille in the Season 7 premiere?
“I don’t know that our audience is necessarily bloodthirsty enough to be wanting to hear that there’s another death. One death should be enough for this audience and one death will definitely have the affect that we’re looking for. It will certainly set the stage for a very exciting season. It’s going to be a rough, rough, rough episode emotionally. Knowing what’s coming and knowing what happens, it’s really hard for me to watch.”
Kirkman concluded by saying the premiere is “gut-wrenching,” and he doesn’t “think anyone will be hungry for more blood when the episode airs.”
What do you think of the latest Walking Dead Season 7 spoilers? Do you think Negan will kill more than one main character in the season premiere?
The Walking Dead Season 7 premieres Sunday at 9 p.m. on AMC.
[Featured Image by AMC]
