New Walking Dead salary deals support TWD universe expansion to movies
The Walking Dead is hell bent on keeping its biggest stars and we may even see some of them cross over to the Fear series or movies.
The final episode of Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) came with several surprises, most especially the shock that not only did Grimes not die, but he was whisked away to be saved, and will now exist in another realm of the every expanding Walking Dead universe. It was quite a coup by AMC, but also completely brilliant.
The surprise development is just one of many ways that the series is being completely revamped in a show that was increasingly becoming redundant and stale, despite being originally one of the most groundbreaking shows on television.
Lincoln may get a movie storyline, but it doesn’t look like we’ll be seeing him on the series anymore. That much seems certain. Other characters will take his place as leaders in the zombie apocalypse universe, including two of the biggest stars, Norman Reedus (Daryl) and Melissa McBride (Carol). Both are huge fan favorites, and it looks like they’re benefiting the most from Lincoln’s absence. Both have signed on for three-year deals to take out hordes of zombies.
As we’ve previously reported, it was announced that Reedus scored himself a major raise right around the time AMC told fans Lincoln was no longer returning, looking to make around $20 million in the new package. Well, it turns out that his deal is sweeter than previously thought. Reedus will now be making $350,000 per episode for toting around that awesome crossbow. Guarantees and advances could see the 49 year-old making something between $50 and $90 million. Not bad for an actor who started out making just $8,500 per episode (that’s an over 4,000 percent raise!).
Melissa McBride will also be getting a well-deserved salary bump, set to make $20 million over the next three years. Besides Lincoln, McBride is easily considered the best actor on the series, generating some of the most moving moments on the show. It’s really a travesty that the actress has not received an Emmy nomination for her riveting performance. But at least she’ll be remunerated well! Since we’re dealing with a big time jump for the rest of the season, it’s a good bet that Carol has indeed married King Ezekiel (just a guess): she may be royalty and will now have the budget to go along with it!
There’s more! Both contracts may also include movies as well, AMC programming president David Madden told The Hollywood Reporter:
"The deals that we made for Norman and Melissa are franchise deals. Our deals with Norman and Melissa allow us the flexibility to either move them or use them in more than one place, depending on what seems creatively right to Scott and to his partners."
And:
"We do look at this as a universe where we’re trying to expand into as many different places as the show fits. We think this is a franchise that could live across formats. So we want to do it carefully; we want to be strategic; we want to try to do it right. But there is a multi-year plan that could include additional series, digital content and specials."
What about Michonne, captivatingly portrayed by another fan favorite, Danai Gurira, who is currently negotiating her own contract? Gurira has other projects outside TWD universe and it would a shame to lose such a linchpin on the series, especially after salary negotiations caused the departure of Maggie (Lauren Cohan). Between the two, Michonne is more pivotal to the series.
Madden, again to The Hollywood Reporter:
"She has been very vocal about saying that she loves the show. We love Danai; we love that character. Right now, she’s got a lot of opportunities and she needs to weigh what she feels is best for her. But we certainly would want her on the show as long as she wants to be on it."
And:
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"We really want her to stay. She is an incredibly valuable character and I’m really hoping she stays. Obviously, the lesson of Andy is that the show can survive anybody’s departure if need be but that’s not our goal. The goal is to have Danai continue on whatever basis she can make work, given the other things that she has going on in her life.”"
It also sounds like they’re preparing for negotiations to go south, if they do.
Production for the Rick Grimes series of movies will begin next year, according to Scott Gimple, who will still be at the helm. How TWD universe is expanding and changing is exciting. Fear the Walking Dead (with the amazing Lennie James and Garret Dillahunt) transferred into an enthralling show after its reboot. Let’s hope that all this change will do the same for TWD.