An AMC exec has revealed new details about the plot for Isle of the Dead, the Maggie and Negan spinoff. And things are sounding pretty wild! We’re talking about the largest herd of walkers yet in the universe, and some ziplining protagonists.
If You Visit the Abandoned Manhattan, You’ll Have to Be Comfortable with Ziplining
Dan McDermott, AMC’s programming chief, revealed more details about Isle of the Dead’s plot during a podcast interview with Variety’s Strictly Business. You can listen to the 30-minute long podcast, which includes discussions of other AMC projects too, in the embedded link below.
We already knew that Maggie and Negan somehow end up in the New York region, but that was just the beginning.
During the interview, McDermott explains that Manhattan had been abandoned and given up to the walkers after the government destroyed all bridges and tunnels into the city. The bombardment happened 12 years ago. Manhattan’s now been overtaken by a walker herd that’s one million strong.
Here’s a clip from that particular part of the interview:
isle of the dead is gonna have a horde of ONE MILLION walkers and the characters travel by zip lining between buildings??? oh man i am so ready for this show. #isleofthedead pic.twitter.com/FMOZQlMrRl
— Ethan (@EthanCorby) July 25, 2022
McDermott said:
It’s going to take place on the island of Manhattan, which was left to the walkers 12 years ago when they overran Manhattan. The government decided to blow all the bridges and tunnels and just leave the island to the walkers. And it’s now 12 years later. There’s a million-walker herd that’s sort of dominating the streets of Manhattan… Maggie and Negan have to journey onto the island, where there’s a small civilian that lives in Manhattan… Lives above the 10th floor of all the buildings and they zipline back and forth above the streets. They have hydroponic farms…
The plot sounds super intriguing, if it’s done well. Otherwise, it could come out potentially campy in a Z Nation kind of way. But it’s certainly possible to approach this in a way that’s truly engrossing and absolutely unique to The Walking Dead unvierse. If anyone can pull it off, it’s Morgan and Cohan.
They Want to Maintain the Integrity of the TWD Universe’s Lore
McDermott went on to say: “We want to maintain the integrity of the universe, and ensure that we don’t do anything that invalidates the history and the lore of the universe, while at the same time iterating and evolving and delivering something new…”
He added that AMC doesn’t view The Walking Dead as a horror show, but rather as a series about humanity and maintaining your humanity in the midst of a zombie apocalypse.
“It’s a human drama about connection,” he said.
So far, Undead Walking reported, the cast for Isle of the Dead includes Morgan as Negan, Cohan as Maggie, Gaius Charles as Perlie Armstrong, Mahina Napoleon, Zeljko Ivanek, Jonathan Higginbotham, Karina Ortiz as Amaia, and Caleb Reese Paul as Wesley.
During his podcast interview, McDermott also discusses the new “Interview with the Vampire” series that’s releasing this fall. In the interview, he explains that they’re developing content from all 18 of Anne Rice’s books. McDermott shares that he can “envision us getting five to seven series over the next five or six years up on their feet, each one running four to six seasons, with primary main characters featuring significant stars that will get our universe up and on its feet for the next five to 10 years.”
That sounds like Walking Dead-level engagement, with multiple spinoffs spanning from one main series. Unfortunately, Interview with the Vampire isn’t post-apocalyptic.
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