Future fans of Fear the Walking Dead finally have something that will satiate their hunger for more TV zombies. AMC decided to give impatient Walking Dead fans a tiny taste of the FTWD series premiere in the form of the first three minutes of the first episode, and it’s a bit confusing — Frank Dillane’s character, Nick, already looks like he’s living in a post-apocalyptic world. However, looks can be deceiving.
As Rolling Stone points out, the Fear the Walking Dead clip above is reminiscent of the premiere episode of The Walking Dead . The original series began with Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) waking up from a coma and encountering the undead, and the new series begins with Nick Clark (Frank Dillane) waking up and running into a very fresh zombie. However, there are key differences. Nick is not in a coma — he was likely taking a nap after a long night of shooting heroin. And because Fear the Walking Dead begins before the world realizes that there’s a zombie virus outbreak, the abandoned church Nick is holed up in is likely a drug den in Los Angeles, not a shelter for survivors.
As you can see, Frank Dillane has a Captain Jack Sparrow thing going on with his slight stagger and ripped-open pirate shirt. He’s searching for a girl named Gloria, but he doesn’t like what he sees when he finds her. According to Comicbook.com , that milky-eyed maiden is played by actress Lexi Johnson, and she just might be “ patient zero .” If this is the case, then maybe the zombie virus outbreak started with a batch of really bad drugs.
Nick’s drug habit will give him an interesting perspective as society slowly starts to crumble around him. Because he’s an addict, he’ll have a hard time believing his own eyes.
“My character is debating whether he’s insane or not,” Frank Dillane told Interview magazine.
It could be a very significant decision to open Fear the Walking Dead with a shot of Frank Dillane. Andrew Lincoln’s face was the first one viewers saw on The Walking Dead , and just look at how long his character has survived — perhaps Nick Clark will last just as long. However, as the Inquisitr previously reported, it seems more likely that Dillane will become the Norman Reedus of Fear the Walking Dead . He looks like a real ladykiller, and he told Entertainment Weekly that he’s already preparing to become TV’s next big thing . Luckily, starring in the Harry Potter movies (he played a young Lord Voldemort) has given Dillane an idea of what to expect.
“I was exposed to that kind of hysteria quite early on, so I kind of expect it. It’s not going to be a surprise at least. I don’t really like it, but I kind of expect it at least… I’m sure there will come a time when I won’t be able to, you know, walk around so easy sometimes, or it’s just things that I don’t necessarily want. I don’t really necessarily want to be famous. It takes away from the craft a little bit, but I think it’s part of the job these days, it seems to be.”
Fear the Walking Dead premieres August 23 at 9 p.m. ET on AMC. Do you think Frank Dillane will be the new series’ breakout star?
[Image credit: AMC]
