Will extra-terrestrial aliens be coming to The Walking Dead?
It started off as a joke by The Walking Dead creator, Robert Kirkman. When asked about how the infection started on Twitter, he responded with “space spore.”
Unfortunately, Kirkman has since deleted that post, according to Den of Geek, but the theory has still hung around and Kirkman has gone on to tease about other things within The Walking Dead universe.
While it was revealed to be Kirkman merely messing with The Walking Dead fanbase, this theory now looks set to get an expansion in the comic books, according to Skybound.
As Den of Geek points out, Kirkman originally wanted to tell the story of The Walking Dead but with a very Night of the Living Dead twist. In order to be able to maintain his own IP, though, Kirkman was told to create something more original.
Thus, a “Plan 9 From Outer Space-esque tale of how the zombies were actually animated by an alien race that was preparing to invade Earth by disrupting its infrastructure” was developed.
This concept also never came to fruition, but the idea must have obviously stuck, and now fans will get to see an expansion of this in a series of comics being released from July of this year.
Skybound and Image Comics to release Skybound X
To celebrate the 10-year anniversary, Skybound is set to launch a limited comic book series called Skybound X.
The five editions will cover new material regarding characters from The Walking Dead — including that of Clementine, who only features in the Telltale game version of The Walking Dead.
These special editions will also delve into the prospect of zombies being a product of aliens.
Each of the five comics will include a developing story called Rick Grimes 2000. For those who read the comics regularly, this will be a familiar title as edition 75 contained this non-canonical story.
The Walking Dead: Rick Grimes 2000
While the story was only six pages long, a very intriguing and detailed plot was outlined.
Rick wakes up from a coma — just like in the comics and TV series. However, he now has a “new Luke Skywalker-style mechanical hand.”
He then encounters some familiar friends of his, and one of them, Tyrese, explains that “aliens have been gathering up humans as they die to turn them into supersoldiers for their alien army.”
The aliens are also after the water supply, hence why the undead were created.
Of course, while all of this would be an awesome addition to the world of The Walking Dead, it is considered to be very much non-canonical and definitely wish-fulfillment on behalf of Robert Kirkman. And, plus, Rick has a trio of movies to concentrate on rather than aliens.
Season 11 of The Walking Dead will premiere on August 22 at 9/8c on AMC.