Fans of The Walking Dead will know Robert Kirkman as the creator of the comic book series the television show is based on. However, The Walking Dead is not the only comic book series Kirkman has under his belt, and in 2016, another of his creations will come to life on TV: Outcast .
Outcast is a comic book series from Skybound/Image that tells the story of demon possession, so, as TVLine puts it, the “walking damned” as opposed to the “walking dead.” The synopsis for Season 1 of Cinemax and Fox International’s new Outcast series is as follows.
“ Outcast follows Kyle Barnes, a young man who has been plagued by possession since he was a child. Now an adult, he embarks on a journey to find answers but what he uncovers could mean the end of life on Earth as we know it.”
Patrick Fugit ( Gone Girl, Almost Famous ) stars as Kyle Barnes, the main character in Outcast . Also starring in Outcast is Philip Glenister ( Life on Mars, Mad Dogs ) as Reverend Anderson, David Denman ( Big Fish, After Earth ) as Mark Holter, Wrenn Schmidt ( Person of Interest, The Americans ) as Megan Holt, and Gabriel Bateman ( Stalker, Annabelle ) as Joshua Austin.
Outcast will run for 10 episodes in its first season, with HBO Canada announcing Outcast would premiere on their network in 2016 at the New York Comic Con event. According to MovieWeb , we now have some news on the characters in Outcast thanks to New York Comic Con.
Kyle Barnes, the main character in Outcast , is searching not only for answers, but redemption, as well. He keeps himself separated from the ones he loves as a way to shelter them from more pain. Reverend Anderson, while he is a drinker and a gambler, also believes he is one of God’s soldiers in the “holy war against the forces of evil on Earth.” Joshua Austin is an 8-year-old boy who seems to share a bond with Kyle Barnes thanks to his demon possession in Outcast .
As yet, no premiere date has been released for Outcast by Cinemax beyond 2016. However, a trailer for Season 1 of Outcast was released. The creepy trailer may not make a lot of sense to those who have not yet read the Outcast comics, but for comic fans, there is plenty to see. Even if you haven’t read the Outcast comics, a sense of the newest television series from Robert Kirkman can be gained with the introduction of characters such as Kyle Barnes, Reverend Anderson, and Joshua Austin, as well as the way the characters interact with each other.
Outcast is based on the Skybound/Image comics of the same name. Robert Kirkman created the comic book series with Paul Azaceta, credited for the artwork behind the Outcast comics.
On the TV side of things, Dave Alpert (who has also worked with Robert Kirkman on The Walking Dead ) is listed as executive producer for Outcast . However, while Alpert and Kirkman have worked together before, Outcast brought a new challenge, according to an interview in Variety . Even though both shows ( The Walking Dead and Outcast ) are based on comic book series, The Walking Dead was an established brand, whereas Outcast is still in its early days.
“We were doing the comic book and the series simultaneously, while on The Walking Dead the comic book had been out for six years before we started working with AMC so this was a new experience [with Outcast ] — not only being the first script in development at the Fox International studio but also the first time that we’d developed a script and a comic book at the same time.”
The debut episode of Outcast is directed by Adam Wingard ( You’re Next, The Guest ).
Outcast will premiere in 2016.
[Image credits: Skybound / Cinemax]
