THE WALKING DEAD Roundup – 7.9.12
Did you see the black and white version of the pilot? What did you think? Brought a whole new aesthetic to the show. Wonder what the entire season would feel like in black and white. It felt very reminiscent of the original Night of the Living Dead.
SEASON THREE PREVIEW
This weekend saw the marathons to prepare for the upcoming season, with The Nerdist’s Chris Hardwick hosting the event – including interviews, behind-the-scenes footage, and previews of the upcoming season.
Will Morgan make an appearance? Actor Lennie James revealed that he’s been asked to return to the show during season three, and that he’s all for it if his schedule allows. “It remains a possibility I could return. The character I played is away for a long time, so it’s kind of up to them whether I stay away or if I come back,” James told Digital Spy. Apparently the plan was for Rick to finally make contact with Morgan via radio, but that hasn’t materialized yet. James has confirmed there have been talks.
AMC released a video from Special Effects Make-Up Designer Greg Nicotero, showing off new undead. You can see the video over at Dread Central.
And Nicotero is teaming up with the organizers of SDCC’s “The Walking Dead Escape: San Diego” event, doing the make-up for zombie participants in the obstacle course at PetCo Park stadium.
And there’s also a video looking at the CGI effects of the show. You can find that over at Science Fiction.
The Walking Dead will have its panel at San Diego Comic Con Friday the 13th (yep) starting at 1:25pm in the hallowed Hall H. AMC released a banner that gives us our first good look at both Michonne and the Governor (played by the Next Doctor, David Morrissey). Entertainment Weekly has a bit of a preview from showrunner Glen Mazzara, who says the zombies are everywhere now, and there’s no safe place anymore: “I think in the past our characters thought they could find some safe harbor, and now there’s just no good hiding place at all.” [EW]
Entertainment Weekly also has the first on-set photos, including images inside the prison.
TV Guide has an in-depth interview with Mazzara, along with Robert Kirkman. An interesting tidbit is that Mazzara felt the second season hit its stride after Sophia was found in the barn. Is he acknowledging fan criticisms that the first half of the season was too slow? Note that he doesn’t really answer that question…but instead focuses on the third season and is noting the contrast, saying this time around fans are going to have to keep up.
And did you know creator Robert Kirkman had his doubts about the TV show? With the 100th issue of the comic in stores this month, Kirkman sat down for an interview as part of a documentary on the history of Image Comics. And Kirkman reveals he turned down quite a few offers before finding common ground with Frank Darabont. (Can you believe NBC first had it, and wanted to take out the zombies?) [via Sequart]
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And starting with season three in October, Titan Magazines will be publishing a Walking Dead title full of news, interviews, and maybe some minor spoilers – plus anything else having to do with with franchise, including the comics and video games.
Speaking of which…
TELLTALE SIGNS
Telltale Games has released “Starved for Help”, episode two of The Walking Dead: The Game, an interactive episodic adventure based on the graphic novel. And they say episode three of the first season – “The Long Road Ahead” – will drop in August, and so far the company has sold almost 1.7 million copies. Following episode five, the game will be hitting the retail market. And Telltale’s marketing VP Steve Allison says this will not be their only entry into the franchise. [Digital Spy]
According to Kotaku, Telltale has been having some issues maintaining their original time-table, and the company has promised to keep gamers updated as things develop.
Also in development: a first-person shooter from Activision. This one is based around Daryl and Merle Dixon, and is being developed for Activision by Terminal Reality. Players get to be Daryl, and the goal – of course – is to stay away from the walkers. And according to Digital Trends, the first-look material shows that Activision and TR have long way to go before the game is ready. This game shows how the Dixon brothers made it to Atlanta before meeting up with everyone else. [More at ComicBook.com]
And don’t forget, Mr. Harvey and Mr. Adair – along with helpful tweets from Mr. Smith – recap and review every episode right here.
