Last summer, The Walking Dead comic series came to a sudden and hugely shocking end with its 193rd issue. Once creator Robert Kirkman concluded the source material without any fanfare, fans wondered if this meant the TV series’ days were numbered. In actual fact, though, it looks like there are plans for the show to expand on that landmark final issue. And it may have deliberately been Kirkman’s intention to set up new storylines all along.
While speaking with ComicBook.com, TWD‘s chief content officer Scott M. Gimple heavily hinted that the show will go further than the comics’ final issue and explore the very different world it introduced. Issue #193 jumped forward 20-something years into a future where civilization is back on track, zombies are almost extinct and our heroes are in very different places from where we left them.
As Gimple says, he’s interested to go deeper into this utopian future, something that Kirkman has even suggested to him.
“It’s always been about fulfilling the spirit of the book,” Gimple revealed. “When I read that last issue, I was like, ‘I want to see more of this. I want to see more of this world that he’s laying out.’ And Kirkman even was like, ‘Hey, you see what I did there, see how much story is there, how about that?'”
The EP went on to say that he thinks there’s much more to work with than the comics got the chance to dig into.
“We want to fulfill the book,” Gimple added, “but even in fulfilling the book, I think there’s a lot more to go.”
This isn’t the first time we’ve heard this could happen, of course. Kirkman himself previously said he’d like to see the series play around in this future. In particular, he wants to see more of Judge Michonne and older Eugene, who helps reconnect the nation with his cross-country railroad project.
The next batch of episodes are set to tackle the Commonwealth arc, but after that, then it’ll be time to dig into this bright-eyed future. We may even see this time jump happen in season 11.
In the meantime, The Walking Dead airs its long-delayed season 10 finale on October 4th.