Developing the Governor was a challenge in The Walking Dead comics

The version of The Governor that fans know from the hit AMC television series The Walking Dead underwent several changes before his debut in the comics.

Woodbury was a nice place. The community had big walls, a structured army to protect the citizens, and many comforts were available for people living inside the settlement. Sadly, the Governor made Woodbury a place to fear in The Walking Dead comics and television series.

Whether you know him as Philip Blake or Brian Heriot, he nearly didn’t start with either of those names in the comic book series. According to the Cutting Room Floor section of The Walking Dead Deluxe issue #27, it could have been much different.

In the book, Robert Kirkman refers to a time when he was thinking of naming the character Noah. He wanted a “tall, skinny white guy like some kinda of redneck gun storeowner he should have long black hair and a mustache, not a goatee or a beard, a simple 70s mustache.”

If that doesn’t sound familiar to you, you’re right. His idea for what the character to wear was quite different as well. “He should be wearing a fishing vest and cargo pants with combat boots…maybe thick sweater under the vest.”

Kirkman admits that he nearly named the character President instead of the Governor. He also shared that his initial name for the character was scrapped as well since the plan was to name him Noah.

The changes made for the Governor on The Walking Dead were great

Today, it is strange to think of the Governor as the larger-than-life comic villain we know today or the violent gentleman that viewers of the popular AMC drama loved to hate during the prison era of the show and comics.

Considering the terrible things the Governor did and the impact he made on characters in both mediums, it’s no surprise that he was a big part of one of the most gripping and entertaining times of the franchise’s history.

Thank goodness Robert Kirkman made these changes, and fans got the Governor instead of President Noah on The Walking Dead. Sometimes it’s for the best when some ideas end up on the cutting room floor.