One of the most popular panels every year at San Diego Comic-Con is The Walking Dead; 2017 marks their seventh straight year taking over Hall H. For the past three years, it has been preceded by Fear the Walking Dead, the spin-off/prequel that isn't quite as popular as its forefather but still a very big ratings success for AMC. One obvious question that fans have had since the inception of Fear is, will it eventually cross over into the world of The Walking Dead? The producers, pros that they are, have never given a straight answer on this, but during this year's Fear panel, they leaned just slightly in the direction of "We're certainly thinking about it."
Producer Robert Kirkman, answering a fan question about seeing the two worlds merge, remarked, "We'd love to try to work it out. The fans would love it, and it's something we'd love to try to do eventually."
Another fan brought it up again during the panel, to which Fear showrunner Dave Erickson replied, "Never say never."
Clearly, these are far from confirmations, but it's apparent these guys have toyed (and continue to toy with) the idea. It was admitted that it might be difficult to do since Fear is set years earlier than The Walking Dead, and set so far away, but who is to say we won't see some of the main characters from Fear make their way east one day. And wouldn't it be more interesting still if the Fear characters, coarsened and rancorous from their years on the road, served as antagonists for Rick Grimes and his posse? (That's just wishful thinking, though.)
But what of yet another Walking Dead spinoff? The franchise is still such a juggernaut that it's hard to believe the producers haven't toyed with the idea of getting another one going. During The Walking Dead panel, a fan wondered if there were plans to see The Walking Dead taking place in different parts of the world. TWD showrunner Scott M. Gimple was surprisingly forthcoming when he responded, "It is entirely possible that that could happen. It's something we want to see."
Want to see is different than will see, but once again it looks like the creative team is curious about shaking up the Walking Dead formula a bit. Maybe if the ratings really begin to sag they’ll put some of these ideas in motion.
Check out the Comic Con trailers for both Fear the Walking Dead and The Walking Dead below.