Rumors have been circulating about a possible movie based on "The Walking Dead." Bloody-Disgusting broke the speculative news, and it has run rampant like a herd of walkers. The report, though, states that it would be unlikely for the creators of the show to take steps toward a movie in the next few years. Fans of the show should not put too much faith behind a movie project right now as most options might hurt the current status of the franchise.
Pushing the boundaries
There is no denying that "The Walking Dead" is one of the hottest commodities in any market right now. The show, comic book, books, and video games have been intertwined to make Robert Kirkman's apocalyptic world a successful franchise. A movie could push the boundaries of the franchise in a different direction, but it might be the wrong direction.
Fighting their future
A mid-run movie could be devastating to the viewership numbers for the show. This was tried with "The X-Files" through "The X-Files: Fight the Future." Viewership began to plummet during the fifth season of the show during the buildup for the movie. The Season 5 premiere had over 27 million viewers while the Season 6 premiere (following the movie) only had 20 million viewers. The fans knew the show had jumped the shark and began to fall off week after week, and viewership never recovered. AMC would not want to turn the show into a zombie by running fans off with a mid-run movie.
Experiencing serenity
The creators of the show could get away with a movie after the show had completed the run. They could do a where-are-they-now movie as Joss Whedon did with the "Firefly" movie entitled "Serenity." If the show continues to be successful, a movie like this a few years after the series finale could give fans one more chance for closure. That would be the smarter choice for making some extra money off of the franchise after the money had been made through television. This way, the actors do not have to become burned out by working on the projects throughout the entire year, and the show might gain more of a cult following as "Firefly" has.New characters?
There is another option, though, as a spin-off movie could be made where characters in the same world are used. The negative side of this is that fans might not be as eager to see it since the cast might not be composed of familiar characters. Also, this could have the appearance of "milking the wallets" of the fans and could cause a backlash against the viewership ratings. Only time will tell which avenue, if any, is taken.
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