‘The Walking Dead’ Star Might Direct ‘Fear the Walking Dead’

The Walking Dead star-turned-director Michael Cudlitz is looking to next steer episodes of spinoff Fear the Walking Dead.

The former Abraham Ford star made his directorial debut with Sunday’s Walking Dead 907, “Stradivarius,” and hopes to helm future episodes of both series.

“That’s all up to [AMC]. I spoke to [The Walking Dead showrunner] Angela pretty recently. I know there are a lot of demands that are outside of choice for her sometimes, so I don’t put any pressure on them other than letting them know I’d love to do it again. We’ll see from there,” Cudlitz told EW.

Cudlitz has had talks with The Walking Dead and Fear the Walking Dead director Michael E. Satrazemis, who previously backed Fear star Colman Domingo when the Victor Strand actor made his directorial debut in that series’ fourth season.

“I’ve also spoken to Michael Satrazemis, and we briefly chatted about me possibly going over to Fear the Walking Dead, but again, that would again be their choice,” Cudlitz said.

“I let them know that I would love to do that. Now the ball’s in their court at this point.”

In tackling the second episode out of the post-Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) era, Cudlitz praised the “really wonderful, creative thing” Kang has brought to The Walking Dead in its refreshed ninth season.

“It’s just completely different technique of running things than [former showrunner Scott M. Gimple] was doing. It’s not necessarily a good or a bad thing, but I think there’s a reason he was finished in that position. It was just time. It was time for him to do something else with the show for the show to grow,” Cudlitz said of the executive producer, who has since been elevated to chief content officer of the Walking Dead brand.

“And although personally I would prefer Carl and everyone else to still be there that is historically there in relation to the comic book, because they have lost who they have lost, it was a wonderful choice to have Andy go, because it is literally a clean slate. Nobody can ever say again, ‘Well, that’s not what they did in the comics!’

“We’re so far from the comics that you would sound like an idiot if you said something like that, because it just has no bearing on the stories we’re telling anymore other than the circumstances, the world, and the locations we go to. But the family and the people we are following have all changed. I think that gives the audience an opportunity to really grab on even tighter and enjoy the ride now and not compare it to the what-ifs and why-nots of the comic world.”

The Walking Dead airs its Satrazemis-directed mid-season finale Sunday at 9/8c on AMC. Fear returns to AMC with its fifth season in 2019.