The Walking Dead

Thomas Jane as Rick Grimes? It might have happened if “The Walking Dead” creator Frank Darabont had had his way. At a special Q&A following a Hero Complex Film Festival screening of “The Mist,” Darabont, addressing a question from an audience member, spoke briefly about the thematic similarities between two pairs of projects on his resume — the Stephen King adaptations “The Shawshank Redemption” and “The Green Mile,” and his 2007 horror film, which follows a group of people trapped in a shopping market after a mist envelopes their town and charts their personal devolution as they face terrible, heartbreaking choices, and the hit AMC zombie series  he launched in 2010. He also pointed out that he initially had wanted the star of “The Mist,” actor Thomas Jane, to play lawman Rick Grimes, the part that eventually went to actor Andrew […]

For Free Comic Book Day on Saturday, Image Comics is focusing on the past and the present — the publisher will revisit one of its classic titles, “Aphrodite IX,” with an eye toward rebooting its green-haired assassin, and will release a new issue of “The Walking Dead” that contains a new Tyrese-focused short story and reprints short stories featuring Michonne, the Governor and Morgan. Robert Kirkman’s zombie comic book might be top of mind in the pop cultural consciousness thanks to the wild popularity of the AMC television series it spawned, but “Aphrodite IX” might benefit from an additional promotional push. Originally created by David Wohl and David Finch, the title debuted in 1996, but only generated six issues and one trade paperback. Now Matt Hawkins, president of Image’s Top Cow imprint, and artist Stjepan Sejic are teaming to bring […]

Season 3 of “The Walking Dead” concluded last night with one explosive finale that set an interesting stage for the characters left standing after the epic showdown with David Morrissey’s Governor. (Click through the gallery above to see scenes from the episode.) All in all, it’s been a bristling, brutal season for Andrew Lincoln’s Rick Grimes and his band of survivors — a number of whom, well, failed to survive. The executive producer of the hit AMC series, Gale Anne Hurd, is not spending a lot of time feeling overly sentimental about the characters who have departed, however. Rather, she’s looking ahead to Season 4, which will see Scott Gimple replace Glen Mazzara at the helm of the show. Late last month, Hurd took time out to speak to Hero Complex about what audiences can expect to see when “The Walking […]

Departing show runner Glen Mazzara has long contended that in the world of “The Walking Dead,” no one is safe. And it’s true that so far in the life of the AMC zombie series, a host of characters have met untimely deaths — at the hands of walkers and other dangers. (A strong warning to anyone who might have missed Sunday’s episode, “This Sorrowful Life,” stop reading right now unless you want to know which major character met his end last night.) In a shocking turn of events, David Morrissey’s ruthless Governor shot and killed Merle, leaving fans of the Dixon brothers heartbroken — even as they might have breathed a sigh of relief that Daryl’s life was spared — for now. (If there’s anyone the writers can’t kill, it’s Norman Reedus’ fan favorite; Mazzara conceded to Hero Complex that […]

If you ask David Morrissey, the Governor — the lethal character the English actor portrays on AMC’s hit zombie series “The Walking Dead” — is not an inherently bad person. Rather, he’s “a victim of his time.” “We all know that power can have a corrupting influence on people,” Morrissey said during a recent interview with our sister blog Show Tracker. “There’s a sense during Season 3 the Governor could have slipped to the side of  the angels if he wanted to.” There’s likely little chance of that happening at this point — the Governor on the series is, with every passing week, beginning to more closely resemble the unhinged sadist from Robert Kirkman’s “Walking Dead” comics. In Sunday’s episode, “Prey,” according to an episode synopsis released by AMC, the Governor chases a dissenter who flees Woodbury, and while he’s […]

At first glance, “Oz the Great and Powerful” might not seem to have a lot in common with AMC’s hit zombie series “The Walking Dead,” but they share one key element: Greg Nicotero. The veteran makeup artist now spends much of his time on the Georgia set of the popular show, serving as co-executive producer and directing episodes as well, but he also worked with Howard Berger and the artisans at their shop, KNB EFX Group, to create the fantastic looks for director Sam Raimi’s voyage to the world of Oz created by L. Frank Baum. In Raimi’s vision, that land is populated by creations such as the China Girl (Joey King) and Finley (Zach Braff), the talking monkey that becomes a key companion for James Franco as his magician con man travels through the fantastic landscape and quickly becomes involved in a war […]

It’s been a strong run of episodes of late for “The Walking Dead” — last week’s installment, “Clear,” won plaudits for its smart character moments and the return of Morgan, the good-natured man played by Lennie James, who initially saved the life of Andrew Lincoln’s Rick Grimes way back in the series pilot. Of course, a great deal has changed in the intervening time and the former friends found themselves navigating a tricky reunion. But Rick will have to face off against a very different kind of man in Sunday’s “Arrow on the Doorpost” when he sits down with the Governor (David Morrissey) to come up with a peace treaty that would enable the leaders to prevent any further deaths among their people. “What’s important to understand in this character, he sees himself on a historical stage,” departing showrunner Glen […]

Zombie-lovers and “Walking Dead” fans were divided over a “Saturday Night Live” send-up of the cult hit AMC series. Some felt the skit was absolutely hilarious and others slamming it as absolutely horrible. The zombie parody dove into some dicey racial politics as the skit depicted “Walking Dead” characters crossing paths with Lyle, played by this week’s host, Kevin Hart. MORE: The plight of the black zombie The group fears allowing Lyle to join their ranks — he’s acting like a zombie, after all — but Lyle uses those fears to prey on white guilt. What did you think? Did the skit go too far? Were you thrilled to see the comedy sketch show tackle “The Walking Dead” and zombies? Or did you find it to be one of this week’s less-than-funny sketches. (That Z-shirt thing? Would have been much […]

The official synopsis for Sunday night’s installment of “The Walking Dead” is pretty straightforward: “Realizing they are heavily outgunned against the Governor’s (David Morrissey) forces, Rick (Andrew Lincoln) leads an expedition to get more weapons.” But photos from the new episode of the hit AMC zombie series suggest that Rick and Carl (Chandler Riggs) might get a little bonding time with Danai Gurira’s Michonne while making that run for supplies. The three characters are prominently featured in stills from the episode, titled, “Clear,” and Gurira, speaking late last year, certainly had only kind words for Lincoln, who is at the core of the actors featured in the series’ ensemble. “There’s something about this show where the actors have such a beautiful ownership of what goes into the camera frame,” told Hero Complex. “People want everyone to do excellently, and they […]

Just when you thought Hollywood’s awards season had come to a close with the Oscars, Netflix has unveiled a new prize — the Flixies. But this honor is designed to celebrate widely popular entertainment — movies and television series with ardent followings that too often go overlooked by more conventional ceremonies. “The Walking Dead,” “The Vampire Diaries,” “Battlestar Galactica” and “Transformers: Dark of the Moon” are among the films and TV shows nominated in seven tongue-in-cheek categories including “Best Tantrum Tamer,” “Best Bromance,” “Best Hangover Cure” and “Best Commute Shrtnr.” Among the other genre nominees: “Lost,” “American Horror Story,” “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” “Teen Wolf,” “Commando,” “Super 8,” “Freaks and Geeks,” “Archer,” “Mythbusters,” “Transformers Prime” and “The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes.” The video streaming services’ new awards are designed to recognize the way audiences now watch TV and films. Services such […]