'The Walking Dead' Showrunner on Danai Gurira's Future

Danai Gurira's future with The Walking Dead beyond Season Nine is uncertain but she will have a [...]

Danai Gurira's future with The Walking Dead beyond Season Nine is uncertain but she will have a considerable role in the upcoming episodes.

"She's definitely a series regular this season, and then beyond that –– that is out of my realm," new showrunner Angela Kang told THR. "We just know that we have lots of story we want to tell with Michonne."

With Gurira's film career taking off on the heels of a breakout role in Black Panther and an appearance Avengers: Infinity War (the film responsible for the biggest opening weekend of all time), the decision to stay with The Walking Dead for Season Ten or not is unknown. Still, Gurira and Michonne fans have plenty to look forward to with Season Nine.

"Michonne definitely has a meaty arc this season, and it's one that unfolds in a way that I hope will be interesting to our viewers," Kang said. "Danai and I have been having a great time discussing her character this season. We're trying to see what other shades we can bring into this character and this role because she has depth as an actor and is such a smart actor. We're loving writing for Michonne and there's going to be some cool stuff for fans to see that will hopefully be surprising."

Of course, Michonne's role by comparison to The Walking Dead comics has shifted. Readers have noticed a shift in her role to one more consistent with that of Andrew from the comics, a character who survived far beyond the war with Negan. Michonne, in the comics, is also alive. However, neither fact may mean much as Kang points out that deviating from the books is something the show will continue to do from time to time.

"I love the comics," Kang said. "I legitimately read every issue of the comic before I knew a job possibility existed on The Walking Dead. For us, we've always taken incredible inspiration from the comics just as fans, but also as people creating the TV world of The Walking Dead –– it's a different medium, different things work onscreen than work on the comic book panels, and vice versa. We've always had to remix things, and I think that's one of the things that keeps the show exciting and fresh –– and Kirkman himself has always been, 'Yeah, go ahead, change that up! I wrote that 10 years ago, I would have done that much better now.' He has such a great attitude about it. I do love writing for these characters that have had different journeys than the comic book characters, or exist or don't exist from the books, so that's one of the really fun aspects of the storytelling of this. We've never been completely tethered to the events of the comic. We obviously want to tell the stories that we ourselves are so excited about, and look forward to, but we always hope to mix in what's the show's reality because it's so rich in another direction at this point."

The Walking Dead will return for its ninth season in the fall. Fear the Walking Dead airs Sundays at 9 pm ET on AMC, returning for the second half of its fourth season on August 12th. For complete coverage and insider info all year long, follow @BrandonDavisBD on Twitter.

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