The Walking Dead boss “never interested” in cause of zombie apocalypse

Over the years, The Walking Dead has left its mark on the worlds of comic books and TV. Author Robert Kirkman’s creation is one of the most successful zombie stories of all time, and even though the flagship AMC show ends this year, the universe is only just beginning.

But as this world expands, there is one burning question that lies in the heart of every fan: what actually caused this zombie apocalypse? Fans thought the prequel show Fear The Walking Dead might answer this question, but even though an answer has been teased from time to time, none has been forthcoming.

But what about Kirkman’s original Walking Dead comics. Did any of them ever tell us what caused all this mayhem? The answer is no! In Issue #41 of The Walking Dead Deluxe, which is just the original comic book series reprinted in full color, Kirkman said that we won’t ever learn the cause.

The Walking Dead’s zombie apocalypse may always be a mystery

Kirkman shared that he wasn’t interested in why zombies were roaming about the Earth. Instead, the focus was always on the lives of the characters that were dealing with the problem.

"I really was never interested in dealing with the cause of the zombie outbreak. My opinion has been well-documented, but the short version is…any detailed explanation would push things too far into the realm of sci-fi for me. I think it’s better to leave it unresolved. That way, the story remains grounded. That said…tons of fans wanted me to explore it, and I was not above pandering to them from time to time in ways I felt were interesting."

Now that we know Kirkman’s mindset, I can’t help but wonder if the flagship show or the spin-offs will ever attempt to answer the question. Given the number of shows on the way, I would think it is in the best interest of the franchise to do so. It’s something we all want, right?

As I mentioned before, there have been hints about it, especially in The Walking Dead: World Beyond post-credit scene which revealed that the virus might have started in a French lab. It is the closest we’ve gotten to an explanation and it also gave us a sneak peek at how zombies might have evolved in the future (they’re crazy fast and somehow even more aggressive).

So yes, while we don’t have an official explanation from the comics and the shows have tip-toed around it, we do have some idea as to how this thing might have started. It’ll be interesting to see how future shows address this tidbit. We can only hope there is more where that came from!

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h/t ComicBook.com