Robert Kirkman Admits ‘There’s An Option’ For A Spinoff About A Certain ‘The Walking Dead’ Character

Earlier this month, Robert Kirkman surprised fans of The Walking Dead comic book series with the news that it would all be coming to an end a lot sooner than everyone had realized. Since then, the details of the comic’s ending has divided fans, who have either responded positively or negatively, and without much wiggle room in between. So, of course, Kirkman took some time during his San Diego Comic-Con panel on Thursday to explain and defend the decision. He also floated the possibility of a spinoff series.

Kirkman alluded to the possibility of a spinoff comic book story that would follow Negan in his farewell column but didn’t outright commit to it. When asked about it on Thursday, he did his best to avoid the question, but ultimately admitted that “there’s an option there,” according to The Hollywood Reporter:

“Negan is alive,” he said. “I think that’s a cool tidbit. He’s still out there, theoretically living in that farmhouse. There might be a story to be told there. It’s possible that’s my escape hatch if my career takes a nose dive when I’m 42. The joke is I’m very nearly 42.”

As for ending The Walking Dead much sooner than previously announced, Kirkman reiterated his past counterargument against complaints that the comics (and the television show) keep recycling the same stories. “I feel like the story wasn’t repetitious,” he said. “I felt like it escalated. But I was acutely aware of how it could become repetitious and I really wanted to avoid that. I wanted there to be a narrative flow, and in order to achieve that, I knew I would have to wrap it up.”