AMC wants The Walking Dead to stagger on for "30, 40, 50 years"

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The Walking Dead will never die. Like its walkers, shambling around without purpose, AMC foresee the franchise sticking around for a long, long time to come. We’re not talking years here… we’re talking decades. Hey, at least we might get ‘round to seeing literal Old Man Rick in season 46.

As reported by Deadline, AMC CEO Josh Sapan deliberately uses the word franchise when talking about The Walking Dead’s future. “The use of the word ‘franchise,’ we don’t take lightly. It’s not a sloppy or casual word. We’ve studied the best,” Sapan explains, “Some have been around 30, 40, 50 years. We have a chance for a lot of life in the franchise.”

Of course, that hardly means we’re going to see the main TV show stretch much more past The Walking Dead season 8 but, rather, a whole bunch of spinoffs and other properties. Fear The Walking Dead has just finished its third season, and there’s bound to be plenty more where that came from, as Sapan says the franchise is “in great shape and the people who are managing that great shape are motivated.”

It’s all well and good saying you’re going to continue a franchise for a few decades, but what about the fans? The Walking Dead has been on the wane for the last couple of seasons and its video game counterpart is essentially over and done with. Where else is there for the franchise to go next? Zombies are great and all, but there’s only so much of the pains of the post-apocalypse that viewers can handle. Time to think outside the box, perhaps?

So, let’s settle this in the time-honoured tradition of our forefathers: an internet poll.

Image: AMC

Bradley Russell
Bradley Russell
Senior Entertainment Writer

I'm the Senior Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, focusing on news, features, and interviews with some of the biggest names in film and TV. On-site, you'll find me marveling at Marvel and providing analysis and room temperature takes on the newest films, Star Wars and, of course, anime. Outside of GR, I love getting lost in a good 100-hour JRPG, Warzone, and kicking back on the (virtual) field with Football Manager. My work has also been featured in OPM, FourFourTwo, and Game Revolution.