Robert Kirkman addresses possibility of immunity on The Walking Dead
By Adam Carlson
Is it possible that someone could be biologically immune to the effects of the outbreak on The Walking Dead? Creator Robert Kirkman talks about that topic.
The zombie genre may be a very specific niche to horror and entertainment, but that doesn’t mean that programs like The Walking Dead are nearly identical to other shows and films showcasing the living dead.
In fact, there are so many variations of what zombies are. They can be fast or slow moving, eat flesh or brains, or retain some knowledge of who they were before they joined the ranks of the undead.
Another thing that is dabbled with in the zombie genre is immunity. Sometimes there are characters or animals that are free from the effects of the virus or infection that put a twist on finding a cure or surviving.
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However, Robert Kirkman quickly shut down the idea of anyone in The Walking Dead being immune to the outbreak while on the Walker Stalker Cruise according to an article from ComicBook.com:
"“No, that would be terrible,” Kirkman said. “That’s not a storyline I like.”"
A major part of what makes the zombie genre so interesting is how characters always have that threat of death. Having a character be immune to the bite of a walker or be free from the effects of the undead is something that can take a lot of the power out of a story.
Kirkman laid out a couple of great reasons why he doesn’t want to dive into the topic of immunity on the show or in the comic books.
"“One, because it’s been done on a lot of other zombie stories,” Kirkman said. “And two, because you know it’s kind of a mythology-breaking proposition. You don’t want that kind of thing as far as somebody being immune. And we have dabbled in that a little bit in the other show [Fear The Walking Dead].”"
Of course, Fear The Walking Dead teased that a character had immunity after being bitten, but it turned out to be a farce to get people to believe in him as a leader. This situation teased the concept of immunity, but also brought the theory crashing back down to earth.
The hope of there being an immune character on the show is at as high of a level as ever since a key part of the story made a startling revelation in the season 8 midseason finale that they had been bitten by a walker.
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Should The Walking Dead introduce a character who is immune to walker bites or would making that change create a situation where the show will “jump the shark”? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.