#SDCC18: FEAR THE WALKING DEAD Cast & Crew Talk Season 4B
Friday was unofficially zombie day at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con, and we took part in press conferences for AMC’s Fear the Walking Dead and its predecessor, The Walking Dead, both of which still manage to pack in the SDCC crowds. Below you’ll find the highlights of what we learned about Fear Season 4B, which returns on August 12th.
Joining us for the conference were stars Alycia Debnam-Carey, Colman Domingo, Lennie James, Danay Garcia, Jenna Elfman, Maggie Grace, and Garret Dillahunt plus executive producers and showrunners Andrew Chambliss and Ian Goldberg, executive producer Scott Gimple, and director Michael Satrazemis, who followed Lennie when he crossed over into Fear from TWD.
First up, new cast members Jenna Elfman, Maggie Grace, and Garret Dillahunt were asked what it was like joining an already established show like Fear the Walking Dead…
Maggie said that everyone was “warm and friendly,” but it was “shocking to lose” so many long-time cast members so quickly after she arrived. Garret confirmed that he’s “having a blast” working on the show, while Jenna added that she was “honored to be given the opportunity”; however, there’s a “big learning curve” to working in the genre. Plus, it’s such a “fan-based experience” that she wanted to be sure she could “get it right.” She’s especially excited for everyone to see the second half of the season.
Garret was asked about the scene that introduced his character and acknowledged he was “a bit nervous at first” about it being like a western, but “they did it really well.” He’s mostly just “happy the fans came along.”
As for what we can expect coming up, Ian said that since the first half of S4 ended with the characters being brought together by “circumstances they couldn’t imagine,” there’s “a lot to resolve within themselves and in the group” as a whole going forward. Finding redemption… making up for things… how do they do that?
For her part, Alycia has been excited to play her character, Alicia’s, arc as she’s grown “from a regular teenage girl to a fearless warrior.” She mentioned how everyone is essentially a “version of an orphan.” We’ve seen her go from the beginning of the apocalypse to the end… it’s quite remarkable! This season has been particularly hard on her… we now get to see Alicia as “purely her own person with no ties to her mother or brother.”
Lennie re-emphasized what he’s said before regarding his crossover into Fear… At first he was like, “Let’s make it better than ‘the other show.’ Let’s man up!” (laughs) But really, he’s just trying to do his best work wherever he is. There would have been no point to the crossover if it wasn’t adding something. He wasn’t interested in it being a “gimmick” since he’s “very protective of” and “feels responsible for” his Morgan character.
As for whether the time jumps on both Fear and TWD rule out any further crossovers, Scott said definitively, “It does not… you never know who might pop up.” What we’ve seen thus far in the season – and will see with the upcoming natural disaster teased on the trailer – has expressed the show’s “total elasticity” as far as structure, tone, etc. Be on the lookout for Episode 4.10, which will be “so dark, emotional, and heartfelt.” But, on the “other side” of the spectrum, the season also brings us a scene with Lennie James on the toilet!
Speaking of which, when Gimple was asked if zombies poop, he gamely hypothesized that there’s probably a “fermentation process” taking place that could result in “projectiles,” an image we’d rather not dwell on too much! Neither would Maggie apparently, as the panel all laughed at how she’s not a fan of on-set poop jokes. But she did chime in that said “fermentation” could be why zombies “walk so strangely.”
Her character, Althea’s, tapes were mentioned… might we learn more about those? Yes, we definitely will, according to Ian. The show “will explore” them a bit and also tell us “why they mean so much to her,” which will “pull back a whole other layer [of her character] across a couple of episodes.”
Andrew offered that they really “push the boundaries in the back half” with lots of different stories, including how the hurricane changes things.
Michael was asked about directing both shows, and he enthused that working on Fear was “the greatest year of my life… what we’ve created, the work we’ve done, is incredible.”
The showrunners were asked if they feel more or less pressure without having the framework of a comic to work from, and Andrew replied that it’s “a double-edged sword.” While at times they wish they had the luxury of a comic source, they relish the “freedom to do things that are really different.” Their vision of The Walking Dead universe lends itself to “reinvention each 8 episodes.” They can “go in a new direction” without boundaries.
Ian added that due to their tonal shifts, they can employ “variation from episode to episode, season to season,” giving them a “broad canvas to work with.”
Jenna was so appreciative of what joining the show did for her personally, saying it allowed her to learn “what I don’t know about acting and grow from there.” The environment on set has been “so safe” with the feeling it’s “okay to not know, okay to learn and be better.” She’s excited about the second half since she’s basically been “living the same experience” as her character… “transformative, vulnerable, awesome.”
Since it was previously announced that Gimple was promoted to chief content officer of the entire Walking Dead brand for AMC and he has hinted at other crossovers, he was asked about his plans for expanding the universe; but per usual, he was tight-lipped, saying only that he’s “currently working on some things” with “a lot of stuff cooking in the garage.” Might we eventually see the “frozen zombies” Greg Nicotero has spoken about? Scott closed out the conference with, “You never know! Frozen zombies are still in play!” As months go on, he’ll have “more to say.”
So stay tuned, and be sure to be watching when Fear the Walking Dead Season 4B kicks off next month!
Categorized:News
