The Walking Dead Creator Finally Addresses the Debate on Whether Zombies Can Swim

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Summary

  • Robert Kirkman confirms zombies in The Walking Dead cannot swim due to decay gases.
  • The comic book issue of The Walking Dead Deluxe #103 addresses the long-debated question.
  • Fear the Walking Dead shows sea zombies, contrary to The Walking Dead’s rules.

The hit TV show The Walking Dead wouldn’t hold its iconic status without its bloodthirsty, bone-crunching undead that seem to appear at the most inconvenient moments. While encountering a zombie is something most people would avoid under any circumstances, the age-old question about whether zombies can swim has been answered by Robert Kirkman, the creator of the AMC series.

Over multiple platforms such as comics, TV, and video games, the franchise known as The Walking Dead has achieved significant acclaim, earning nominations for prestigious awards like the Golden Globe for Best Drama Series on TV and the Writers Guild Award for a debut series. Despite a drop in viewership during later seasons due to criticisms about storylines and character deaths, the show maintained a passionate and devoted fanbase over its eleven seasons. Although the final episode of The Walking Dead aired on November 20, 2022, curiosity about its post-apocalyptic universe, offshoots, and zombie lore continues to thrive.

Can Zombies Swim in The Walking Dead? Robert Kirkman Has the Answer

According to Screen Rant’s report, issue #103 of The Walking Dead Deluxe comic book series by Robert Kirkman, Charlie Adlard, Dave McCaig, and Rus Wooton addresses a long-standing question among fans: can zombies swim or do they just float in water? A fan asked this question to creator Robert Kirkman, who confirmed that water and zombies don’t mix well because they would decompose. In the comic, it’s suggested that zombies wouldn’t be able to walk into a river due to their decaying state if someone were on a boat attracting them.

Kirkman delved deeper into this topic by explaining that gases within zombies could leak out, causing them to sink to the bottom before they had a chance to do much. On the subject of zombies being intelligent enough to cross rivers, Kirkman was hesitant to fully agree. “Although I don’t endorse the concept of intelligent or evolving zombies, I would suggest that some zombies could be more cunning or persistent than others… so while some might attempt to cross a river, others might not.

In summary, despite the established rule in “The Walking Dead” that zombies cannot swim, the spinoff series “Fear the Walking Dead” portrays them swimming. This is evident in the second season premiere where zombies are shown swimming in the sea as they are hit by Victor Strand’s yacht, the Abigail. In an interview with EW, executive producer Dave Erickson clarified that while zombies can’t wade deep water, they can wade shallow areas and float back up if submerged, which is how they managed to create “water zombies.

The second season of “The Walking Dead: Dead City” has not been assigned a specific launch date as of now, but we can expect it to air around the year 2025.

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2025-01-09 22:23