Walking Dead Season 4 : Kirkman Hints at Rick’s Death!

Walking Dead Season 4 it seems could be in for a ton of shocking twists one of which will no doubt piss off fans and in my humble view unsettle the entire show. AMC’s The Walking Dead has continued to smash ratings records and draw in fans by the millions and it does this with an outstanding cast of characters but can the show go on and succeed with its leading man?

Robert Kirkman answered a pile of fan questions about the series and Season 4 of The Walking Dead and one really struck a note with me which was will Rick Grimes survive? Robert Kirkman responded to the question by saying that Rick Grimes was not out-of-bounds and we can expect his death at almost any point so don’t rule it out.

He also goes on to say that he would like to see Daryl, Maggie or Glen step up and take the leadership role from Rick Grimes.

I am a huge Daryl fan and think that the character has evolved immensely but Daryl needs a character like Rick Grimes to balance the group and Glen or Maggie do not offer that. Glen and Maggie also do not offer much as far as a true leadership role goes and should Rick Grimes die I think its safe to say the group would turn to Daryl before Maggie or Glen. Do I think they will kill off Rick Grimes in Season 4 of The Walking Dead? I sure as hell hope not and I honestly do not believe they are that stupid.

Robert Kirkman seems to think the show and the ‘group’ can survive without Rick Grimes saying as much in an interview on the AMC Blog As far as ‘killing off characters including Rick Robert Kirkman says the actors are consulted in the process;

They get as much input into their death scene as any actor does in any scene. It’s a back and forth, and there are a lot of discussions that go between writers and directors and actors. As far as when they find out that they’re dying, usually it’s a call before the script comes out.It’s very late in the process. We try to be really mindful of the actor’s process — we don’t want an actor to play a scene differently because they know they’re going to die.

Perhaps with the new character Rob Stark which everyone speculates is in fact Abraham the shows producers thinks they can kill off Rick without much risk but I for one thing its a bad move. Frankly the only thing worse would be if they kill off Daryl who has really evolved into a big fan favorite some would say a bigger fan favorite then the key character Rick himself.

We might as well now before we move on address the Abraham rumor. Many people think that the casting call that went out for the new character Rob Stark is actually Abraham but one of our well read readers who knows the Graphic Novels well thinks we all have it wrong. It’s not Abraham at all according to Melissa Maynard who writes to us saying;

People need to read the novels. Abraham will not be introduced in the show yet according to the rob stark casting call. The description of rob stark is way closer to a character named bob stooky. He is mostly in the novels but he is the man who saves the gov after michonne was done with him.

Producers of the show are going to move far away from the comics but nab a bit of storytelling from the novels. Introducing Abraham in season 4 is just so unlikely to me. Abe is introduced way after the prison. plus there is Tyrese still in the show. don’t get me wrong. i would love to see Abe in the show. just not this season or the next. Just my opinion.

It’s a great observation by Melissa and not one I can dispute. If you have your own theory hit the comments below. Moving on, The Walking Dead Season 4 as we had speculated earlier in the week and Robert Kirkman has confirmed is going to focus heavily on Carl’s transformation from pre-teen to young adult and the struggles he faces.

I also believe that we will see Carl develop a love interest with Beth, Hershel’s youngest daughter. I think that adding a teen romance angle into the show will connect with younger teen viewers but also will not alienate older viewers who are tuning in for the subject and not a ‘twilight’ experience.

Carl Grimes ended Season 3 on a shocking note by murdering one of the fleeing marauders from the Governors group in cold blood leading to a show down with his father. The tension between Carl and his father over that incident was palpable and really sets the stage for a conflict in Walking Dead Season 4. Robert Kirkman promises that their will be some shocking twists in the relationship between Rick and Carl and I look forward to it.

The Walking Dead has always been as much about the human story as the zombies and I think an inter family conflict between Carl and Rick Grimes, a little puppy love and an amped up zombie presence will make for some awesome television.

The shows producer Gale Anne Hurd in an interview with IGN has said that Season 4 and other season moving forward will once again be more about the zombies who have become something background objects throughout season 3 and have become less than terrifying. In Season 4 apparently the zombies will once again be front and center and a big part of the story and the fear factor.

One other common question we hear on site is will Morgan return? A great question and its one I also want to see answered. Although we saw Morgan briefly in Season 3 I was hoping to see him truly return to Rick’s side. Robert Kirkman indicated that although he can’t say when we will see Morgan we should definitely not rule it out.

Walking Dead Season 4 will begin shooting May 4th and will air on AMC and on Demand ( which is how I watch it ) in October of 2013. Would you watch The Walking Dead if Rick is killed off? Sound off in the comments.