Daryl Dixon Gay? ‘The Walking Dead’ Creator Robert Kirkman Answers Once And For All

The Daryl Dixon gay rumors were finally put to rest Sunday evening following the mid-season finale of The Walking Dead.

Creator Robert Kirkman addressed this issue directly on the AMC Talking Dead after-show which aired immediately after Sunday night’s heart-wrenching episode

As The Inquisitr previously reported, there has been much speculation that the producers might or might not be considering going in that direction with Daryl Dixon. Actor Norman Reedus, who portrays the fan favorite on the zombie apocalypse series, has even alluded to that possibility from time to time.

In case you tuned in late — or not at all — to the most popular cable television show in America, The Walking Dead is based on a series of graphic novels by Kirkman and follows a small group of survivors led by Georgia Sheriff Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) in a quest to try to find a safe haven far away from virulent zombie-cannibal “walkers” who are also sometimes referred to as biters among other names. One bite from a zombie turns a victim into one of them, although getting covered with zombie guts after close combat oddly seems to have no affect on the heroic zombie fighters. Some of the humans that the good guys encounter along the way — such as Grady Memorial Hospital police chief Dawn and several of her cohorts — can be as equally dangerous as the reanimated flesh-eaters.

In the context of the series, the “walking dead” may also describe the surviving humans who are apparently all infected with the virus in its dormant stage and who “turn” upon dying and must be neutralized by a brain blow.

As far as the popular Daryl character is concerned, Kirkman told Talking Dead host Chris Hardwick and a national television audience still reeling from the death of series regular Emily Kinney (Beth Greene) during the prisoner exchange that Dixon is straight.

Said Kirkman about Daryl’s sexuality, not that there’s anything wrong with that, as it were:

We play Daryl Dixon as being somewhat asexual on the show. He’s a very introverted character, and I think that’s some of his appeal, I do have to clear something up, though: in the letter column of the comic book that I do, I mentioned that there was a possibility early on about making Daryl Dixon’s character gay. It caused quite a hubbub online, and I just wanted to clarify that the possibility is there, and that I would have been fine with it, the network would have been fine with it, but we ultimately didn’t do that. I can make it official: Daryl Dixon is straight.”

Kirkman added, however, that the second half of season 5 of The Walking Dead will feature a new, gay character from the comic book. According to the Bustle website, that character is likely to be Aaron who in the graphic novel is a resident of the Alexandria safe zone (a location not yet introduced in the TV show).

Season 5 returns on February 8, which could perhaps along the way portray Daryl hooking up with Carol… who knows?

An emotional Emily Kinney also appeared on the Talking Dead and repeatedly broke into tears while discussing her departure from the show, particularly in terms of the close relationships she has developed with other members of the cast.

Are you pleased, disappointed, or don’t care that Daryl Dixon is straight on The Walking Dead, and does it even matter considering what to happened to Beth?