Although AMC's series doesn't always faithfully adapt the comics, showrunner Scott M. Gimple claims in an interview that a big time jump may be featured sooner on the series.
- Apr 6, 2017
AceShowbiz - "The Walking Dead" wrapped up its season 7 finale this weekend, featuring a big casualty in the showdown between the Alexandrians and Saviors. With the All Out War arc chronicling Rick's war against Negan was brought up, fans of the comic series expect a big time jump to be featured in the next season.
In the comics written by Robert Kirkman and illustrated by Charlie Adlard, shortly after the final battle, the narrative jumps over two years ahead and shows Alexandria Safe Zone and the surrounding communities in a more peaceful atmosphere. In the 127th issue of the series, Rick finally manages to actualize his vision for a safer future and successfully organizes a network of communities co-operating in harmony and living in peace.
Although the AMC adaptation doesn't always stick faithfully to the original comics, showrunner Scott M. Gimple stated in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter that it was indeed possible to feature a time skip in the future seasons. "For the people who read the comics, they're going to be expecting this," Gimple said about the time jump.
"We're doing the book, we do all sorts of variations on it, and then we do things that are inspired by it and then we change things up with a remix. But I will say there are things that happen in that time jump that are referred to that are super interesting," he continued, before adding, "And thus we might see some of that stuff; it might not be the same sort of jump, or we'll do that two to five years in real time."
Fans speculate that the entire season 8 may center on the All Out War material and the big time skip will be served later in the season finale. Referencing to Gimple's remark, fans further assume that "The Walking Dead" ninth season may use flashback techniques in order to tell the stories taking place in the time between seasons. Many believe that featuring a time jump sooner may give the series some sort of redemption after the previous season 7 garnered criticisms.
"The Walking Dead" season eight is scheduled to premiere this fall on AMC.
