Hollywood Reporter Talks To Glen Mazzara And Robert Kirkman

Hollywood Reporter got a chance to sit down with Showrunner Glen Mazzara and Walking Dead creator and executive producer Robert Kirkman. In the interview Mazzara and Kirkman talk mostly about the Season 3 premiere but also talk about other things.

Last season you toyed with the idea of killing Hershel. Why keep him and then do this?
Glen Mazzara: We thought it was interesting to push into some trauma. We wanted to show what is Rick willing to do to keep Hershel alive. We know that everybody loves Hershel and now that’s a problem. It’s a sacrifice they’ve made for that prison and there are other sacrifices they’ll make to keep the prison. We want to show that the prison is dangerous, worth fighting for and something that they’re not willing to give up.

How will that come into play when we eventually see the Governor (David Morrissey)?
Mazzara: When they come into conflict with the Governor, the audience has to understand how important that prison is to Rick and his group. It also makes Hershel a liability and one of those dilemmas: What do you do when you have a disabled person who might not be able to keep up? What kind of pressure does that put on Hershel’s character?

What was behind the decision to take his character in Dale’s route from the comics?
Robert Kirkman: We really wanted to have some high stakes in the first episode. We wanted to pack a big punch and do something really cool and thought that moment would be something you wouldn’t be expecting but also be something that would lead to an interesting story going forward.

How closely might Hershel’s lost limb follow Dale’s arc from the comics? Are you testing the theory that amputation might prevent the transition to walker?  
Kirkman: This shows how repetitious I was able to be in the comic (laughs). This is a lot more like Allen’s [who fails to survive the amputation after a bite to the ankle]. I don’t know that I would expect the same outcome that happened with Allen. There are elements of the comic that will come into play with the missing leg story line we’re doing with Hershel but there’s also some new areas we’re going to explore and some unexpected twists we’ll see coming up.

To read the entire interview click here!

-Dane
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