Frank Darabont Reveals the Character Arc He Had Planned for Laurie Holden's Character Andrea in THE WALKING DEAD
So many actors have appeared in the universe of The Walking Dead over the past eleven seasons. Very few of the characters from Season 1 have lasted to the end, and many new faces have come and gone in the time since the show began in 2010. Some characters met unexpected ends that surprised fans, as they differed from the storylines of their comic book counterparts, but it kept the show moving in surprising ways.
In a recent interview with /Film, The Walking Dead creator and original showrunner, Frank Darabont, talked about the story arc he had planned for the character Andrea, who was played by actress Laurie Holden. In the series, Andrea met her untimely demise at the end of Season 3. In the comics, Andrea went on to develop a relationship with protagonist Rick Grimes, and she made it all the way to issue #167. While Andrea was meant to last longer, Darabont explains he would have pushed her story in a different direction:
"Laurie's role in 'The Walking Dead' was intended by me to have a substantial character arc that never transpired. She would go from being a mentally jangled, super self-absorbed, badly traumatized and angry girl to the opposite end of the spectrum: their most reliable soldier, an ace sniper, and a grown-ass woman who becomes all about self-sacrifice and protecting the group. And her relationship with Dale would blossom into a very deep May-December situation, a real marriage based in deep abiding feelings and respect. I aim for characters and situations based in messy and complicated feelings, as happens in life. And no, she was never intended to be a love interest for Rick, as I read somewhere. She was never meant to be thrown away as zombie food. Nor was Dale, for that matter."
This is very different from how it played out! Dale was killed off before Andrea was, and the show never did allude to a relationship between the two. I was glad Andrea didn’t end up with Rick, because her character really bugged me. But I did love Dale, and maybe she would have been more endearing in a relationship with him. Who knows? It didn’t happen, and now The Walking Dead has taken its final bow.
We have three new shows to look forward to including one that will follow Daryl to Paris, one about Negan and Maggie in New York City, and another about Rick and Michonne. Are you looking forward to the future of the TWD universe?