Those following The Walking Dead Season 6 spoilers were probably shocked when they apparently saw Glenn dead after being torn apart by zombies. Fans of the AMC series were not happy at all with Glenn’s death, and there has been intense speculation on social media about how Steven Yeun’s character, Glenn Rhee, could have survived this gruesome fate. As it turns out, there is both photo evidence of a Jesus character and an AMC contract which proves that the Walking Dead’s Glenn is alive.
In a related report by the Inquisitr , it is also claimed that Norman Reedus’ Daryl Dixon could die in a future episode, although fans would probably start a riot if that happened.
The Walking Dead producer Scott Gimple has taken the unusual step of addressing Glenn’s death in recent interviews. Normally, they try not to give away too many The Walking Dead spoilers, but in this case he made an exception.
“Dear fans of ‘The Walking Dead,’ this is a hard story to tell and when we were planning to tell it, we knew our friends at the ‘Talking Dead would be talking to you about it. And knowing you’d all be talking and feeling and commiserating, I knew we should say something about it, lest our silence say something we didn’t mean to say or not say. So I’ll say this: In some way, we will see Glenn, some version of Glenn, or parts of Glenn again, either in flashback or in the current story, to help complete the story.”
Fans were not satisfied at all by that vague answer. Gimple admits that he “answered that question super ambiguously” so he has been forced “to take the unusual step of releasing a statement on it,” which is very unusual in the art of TV storytelling. The producer does say that “Glenn didn’t kill Nicholas” and he also explained the process why which they alert actors and actresses to their impending fates.
“I talk to the actors throughout the year whenever big stuff is happening with the character, from death to them perpetrating death, we talk about it. They absolutely have an idea of what’s coming up,” he revealed in the interview. “Typically we’re a couple episodes ahead, sometimes it’s a little tighter than that, sometimes there’s a great deal of lead time with regard to the discussion.”
Gimple says fans should watch to the end of The Walking Dead Season 6 to see if Glenn’s death is true, but it is possible the question has already been answered by leaked information. The biggest piece of evidence is a photo from the set of the show provided by Entertainment Tonight .
In Rob Kirkman’s graphic novels, Issue 91 of The Walking Dead introduces a TWD character named Jesus . The actor shown on the left looks exactly like the graphic novel character, and since The Walking Dead Season 6 has yet to introduce Jesus it seems safe to assume that Glenn’s death is overrated (either that, or Glenn pulls a Lazarus).
In addition, the Hollywood Reporter notes that Steven Yeun has been “spotted on set multiple times during production on the second half of the season.” Killing Glenn would also be “the second major departure from the source material.”
Not to mention, Yeun’s contract with AMC was extended, so it does not make sense to pay him if his character is not coming back. It is possible that Glenn simply will be appearing in flashbacks, but this argument does not appeal to fans. In fact, some comparison can be made to the Game Of Thrones TV show, since Kit Harington’s character Jon Snow was “killed” yet Harington has a contract that goes beyond the last season.
There is evidence to the contrary, though. The latest episode was also an oddly timed flashback, but the producers purposefully yanked Yeun’s name from the credits.
#TheWalkingDead Drops Steven Yeun From Opening Credits https://t.co/o8Ioc4yqCo pic.twitter.com/lPmHSeuu94
— Hollywood Reporter (@THR) November 2, 2015
It could be interpreted to mean that Glenn is dead for certain, but since he wasn’t even part of the story the producers may also be playing with the minds of fans.
What do you think?
Glenn from “the walking dead” better NOT be dead…or else. 😭
— Courtney Eaton (@RealCourtEaton) November 2, 2015
[Photo by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Imagesfor AMC]