Today, Undead is a media juggernaut, with multiple spin-offs and TV games, not to mention the wildly popular original comics. However, the franchise was almost completely different from the beginning. We're seeing how Rick Grimes' story almost started in a totally different way, as well as the biggest changes creator Robert Kirkman made to his original plans for the franchise – including killing off Rick incredibly early.
In The Walking Dead Deluxe #2Kirkman shares the proposal he originally sent to Image Comics to Undeadcreated with Tony Moore. While there are several small differences from the eventual version fans know – such as 'Lori' being 'Carol' and the Grimes family living in Pittsburgh – the big change is that Rick begins the story at home with his family, not waking up from a eat. .
Rick waking up from a coma and finding himself in the zombie apocalypse is UndeadThe most iconic moment, throwing fans straight into the action where several weeks of chaos and death have already passed. Rick's exploration of the dilapidated hospital, eventually emerging into a ruined world and searching for his family, gives the franchise an immediate sense of purpose. And yet Rick almost started the story sitting on the couch and watching the end of the world on TVas fans can see below.
Kirkman admits Undeadoriginal opening “It was terribly cliché, now that I look back.”
Rick Grimes' coma didn't exist in the first draft of Walking Dead
Carl and Lori were there from the beginning
The Walking Dead Deluxe #2 (featuring new colors from Dave McCaig in the main story) shares Kirkman's pitch, where Rick and Lori learn about the zombie uprising from a news report. Sadly, Rick mistakes the news for a War of the Worldsstyle farceand even ends up being ambushed by one of the undead. The different opening means that Rick begins his adventure with Lori and Carl, removing the effect of pushing him into an already fallen world. It also eliminates the chance of Lori and Shane's unfortunate affair, which started the big conflict of the first arc.
In the issue, Kirkman reveals that marketing director Erick Stephenson criticized the opening, saying it was “a stupid horror movie opening.” He also admits, “It was terribly cliché, now that I look back.” The criticism made Kirkman rethink the opening, leading to Rick's coma and the iconic opening that TV and comic book fans will remember forever.
Although some fans have speculated that Undead was inspired by 28 days later – which also begins with its protagonist waking up in hospital, weeks after a 'zombie' plague – Kirkman has always said he only saw Danny Boyle's film later Undead publication began. There is no reason to suspect otherwise, especially since even in Boyle's case, it was not an entirely new idea. the classic 1951 novel Day of the Triffids opens with essentially the same concept.
However, while adding Rick's coma to the opening was clearly a good idea, the original idea has a very more charm when you know the most likely reason Kirkman and Moore planned to use it…
Walking Dead would tie into George A. Romero's Night of the Living Dead
The report would connect comics and films
The most likely reason why Kirkman Undead The sales pitch started with a report and was originally a call with Night of the Living Dead. According to CBR, Undead was conceived as a tie-in set in the same world as Romero's iconic film, taking advantage of the fact that the film had just entered the public domain. CBR even shared the original 'news reading' page, which recreates a moment from the film.
In this context, It's clear why Kirkman would want to use this moment as the story's openingsetting comics and films in the same world, with the idea remaining once the comics became independent. Fortunately, Image Editorial did its job well, transforming Undead in a solo franchise with a killer opening. A change as big as this was for what Undead could have been, it was just the first of many, many lucky breaks for the franchise.
Kirkman originally saw Undead as part of a horror/sci-fi trilogy, swapping zombies for other threats that threaten the same characters.
This was the first of Many Changes to the original Walking Dead vision
From killing Rick early to executing Negan
Kirkman may have saved UndeadThe opening of the game brings a big change, but there was much more to come – from the events surrounding the main characters to the entire purpose of the franchise. Kirkman originally saw Undead as part of a horror/sci-fi trilogywhere three different 'realities' would see the same characters facing very different threats, similar to Stephen King's twin novels Despair and The regulators. Ultimately, Undead was incredibly popular, running for years as “the zombie movie that never ends.”
Undead was originally going to end with zombies destroying humanity, with Kirkman even telling Rick actor Andrew Lincoln that this was the planned conclusion.
Kirkman also planned to kill Rick earlier. Originally, the scene where Carl shoots Shane was going to go another way – Shane allegedly killed Rick in an argument over Loriwith Carl taking on the role of the comic's main character. Other changes came from Charlie Adlard, who drew most of the comic series after Tony Moore's initial issues. Adlard told Kirkman that while his idea of ​​Maggie killing Negan in revenge for Glenn's murder worked, it would be much more interesting to leave him alive and see him won over to Rick's philosophy.
Even the ending was originally different. In The Walking Dead Deluxe #84Kirkman revealed that he had long intended Undead to end with a flashforward to a statue of Rick, showing that he helped rebuild society… only to zoom out and show zombies stumbling past, implying that humanity still eventually fell to the undead. Kirkman even told this ending to Rick Grimes actor Andrew Lincoln and Undead executive producer Greg Nicotero, but ended up changing his mind, leading to a flashforward where Rick actually he has allowed humanity to rebuild itself.
Every beloved pop culture property has at least one moment when it was almost completely different, but few can match the journey Undead changed from its original tone to the version fans received.
Source: Brian Cronin, CBR