Michael Cudlitz: Worry More About What's AFTER 'The Walking Dead' Season 7 Premiere
"The Walking Dead" Season 7 and the premiere is just a taste of what's ahead.
Since everything past the premiere is one giant spoiler, fans have been given few teases beyond that. Sometimes we'll see flashes of Morgan and Carol and the Kingdom, bits of Negan in Alexandria, and just a hint of Tara and Heath on their supply run. But it's mostly "Who did Negan kill?" and the cast and crew talking about how the cliffhanger wait will be worth it, even if the first episode is brutal and a downer, etc.
But whoever dies in the premiere, the show must go on. Cudlitz would like more focus on that fact; here's part of his conversation with Entertainment Weekly:
How would you describe what's in store for us?
I find it interesting that what seems to be lost in all these discussions — we talk about the loss in the show and where these journeys are taking all these characters —I think it's interesting how little is being discussed, almost like nothing, about what happens after this episode. Because there is so much stuff that goes down after this first episode and the continuation through this next season that it's going to make people's heads spin. I mean, it's like, trust me, your least concern at this moment should be the season opener.
Heads will spin! Abraham is in Negan's lineup, and many fans are worried for him. However, in either some spin or genuine hope for what's ahead, Cudlitz talked to PopSugar about how TWD changed his character's story from the death Abraham had in the comic book to .... whatever happens in his future. Here's part of his conversation with Pop Sugar:
In the comics, your character dies in the same way that Dr. Denise did, with an arrow through the eye. Do you know if there was a specific reason why the writers switched the characters up?
Well, [Robert] Kirkman was never happy with the death Abraham had in the graphic novels. He always said it was sort of a last-minute decision and that he regretted how he took him out. I think transferring that specific death of the crossbow arrow through the eye to Denise was sort of an Easter egg for the audience who follow the graphic novels. [...] Her death spurs on a whole bunch of other stuff, and then the audience knows that Abraham will continue for a while now. Now we get to see what a world with Negan and Abraham both in it will be like. That's something we don't see in the graphic novels. So a lot of cool stuff happens. For me, knowing that his potential death had come and gone, it was a moment to go, "Oh cool, they really aren't going to stick with what the graphic novel does." As a fan of both the novel and the show, it was cool.
Now that we know Abraham is likely going to be around for a while, what would you say is the most exciting thing about playing that character?
He's just so much fun! I've been very fortunate in my career to have done a lot of different characters on a lot of different projects, but this is the most consistent fun that I've had. I can't wait to get the script each week to see what thing is going to come out of this dude's mouth next. I love it.
They are assuming Abraham is likely to be around for a while, but it's not like the actors can really say what happens. Remember how Lawrence Gilliard Jr. apologized after Bob died, because he had to lie to fans about his fate? That's the job.
"The Walking Dead" Season 7 starts with "The Day Will Come When You Won't Be" on Sunday, October 23 at 9 p.m. on AMC.
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