Scott M. Gimple Talks THE WALKING DEAD: WORLD BEYOND, Its Similarities and Differences, and How It Fits into the Established TWD World
Fans are getting ready for another spin-off in the world of the AMC series The Walking Dead. We have seen some photos and trailers for this new series, The Walking Dead: World Beyond, and we know the focus of the show will surround a generation of teens who have grown up only knowing the world post-apocalypse. They have led a sheltered life in a community in Nebraska, and they are ready to break out and see what the world outside their walls is all about.
While we wait a few more months for the series to premiere, we have a bit of new info from creator Scott M. Gimple about the show and how it fits into this established world. In a recent interview with EW, Gimple was asked about the timeline for the new series in regards to the original series. He said:
Technically, it’s a little behind. But not much. Not enough for people to notice.
He was then asked about the CRM group whose logo can be seen on the helicopters in the trailer, who have also already been featured in The Walking Dead and Fear the Walking Dead. How will this story connect to that group, and to the others? Gimple explained:
We’re going to be discovering this very big aspect to the world that we haven’t yet seen. We’ve seen glimpses of it on the shows with the helicopters and with the soldier that we saw, Isabelle on Fear. The movie does obviously touch upon some of that mythology as well as Rick being in one of those helicopters. In some ways, World Beyond, it’s a big story and yet it’s sort of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to Rick’s Hamlet, meaning the show and the movie touch upon some of the same things, but they’re not really that deeply related.
We’ll learn more though about that group, that civilization, the nature of some other civilizations of the world through World Beyond, and that will give some of the background for the world that Rick finds himself in. But the story of World Beyond doesn’t really intersect with the movies other than they share knowledge and interaction with some of these bigger things going on in the world.
He went on to talk about the possible crossovers between the three series, saying:
Yeah, absolutely. I mean, they do share a universe. Though it is really cool to see how this different corner of the universe operates and the lives that they have been living all this time, it will be these little places that cross. We’ve been talking about aspects of next season of World Beyond. There might even be a big aspect of crossover with one of the shows. That’s the other part of it is we have these plans, but we’ve got to execute them. That’s sort of next season. We’re still finishing up this season.
And when asked why the choice to set this story in Nebraska, he replied:
It was a different place that conceivably could have had their own things going on there. It wasn’t like West Virginia or Southern Georgia. We wanted to show a very different life. It’s not even like we’re honing up on aspects of Nebraskan life. It’s more just conceivably a different place where there would be no cross between them.
He also talked about the thing that sets this series apart from the others, and that is the age of the cast. He said the kids set the stage, and even the adults are fairly young. He said that because these kids have been raised in such a sheltered environment, it’s a huge deal that they are looking to break out. It really does feel like a whole new story, and I have ties to Nebraska, so I am excited to see it set there.
The Walking Dead: World Beyond season one begins this April on AMC. Are you excited?