It is always fascinating to see how the SFX crew of The Walking Dead universe continues to reimagine the undead. The Walking Dead began with smart walkers who were seen picking up rocks, turning doorknobs, etc., and as the franchise evolved, so did the undead. TWD director, EP, and SFX master Greg Nicotero recently shared a cut scene featuring a walker that paid homage to a zombie featured in Sam Raimi's Army of Darkness.
Throughout the existence of TWD TV universe, actors and creators have often shared scenes cut from the main story, which add insight to or further the stories of characters. One prime example is the scene that sheds light on the fate of the Vatos led by Guillermo (Neil Brown Jr.) in the series' first season. This type of information is exciting to die-hard fans of TWDU.
Recently, Nicotero, who continues to contribute to TWDU, working on The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon spinoff, shared a scene that wasn't featured in the episode it was filmed for. He shared this to highlight the work done in the scene, especially the homage to the deadite captain featured in the third installment of the Evil Dead film series, Army of Darkness. Check it out below.
There have been many impressive walkers featured in the main series and the long list of spinoffs which are set in the same world. Nicotero has often featured Tribute Walkers who are made in the likeness of some of the great characters from iconic horrors, including Dawn of the Dead, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Creepshow, An American Werewolf in London and Day of the Dead.
Nicotero began his work in special effects on George Romero's Day of the Dead, alongside horror icon Tom Savini, so it's no surprise that he would pay tribute to this film. Below is a video announcing that filming had wrapped on season 7 of TWD, and the walker featured resembles Dr. Tongue from Day of the Dead.
Another great tribute was inspired by Bernie Wrightson's The Swamp Thing character. The torso was designed by John Weaton at KNB, the SFX group co-founded by Nicotero, and the make-up was by Kevin Wasner. Nicotero shared a tribute to Wrightson, who passed away in March 2017, and the season 7 finale of TWD was dedicated to his memory.
Below is an image of Gino Crognale putting the finishing touches on the Freddy Krueger-inspired walker featured in season 11 of TWD. This was based on Freddy's appearance in the first movie, A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984).
All 11 seasons of The Walking Dead are available to stream on Netflix.