Despite dwindling ratings and a cast that can’t flee fast enough, The Walking Dead is growing rather than going away. As we saw recently at Comic-Con and in a brief teaser, AMC is pushing ahead with a brand new spinoff focused on the first generation to come of age in the zombie apocalypse. An intriguing premise, for sure, and now AMC has found another series lead and the pilot’s director.
The bigger news by far is the hiring of Kong: Skull Island‘s Jordan Vogt-Roberts to direct the spinoff’s pilot episode. There’s a possibility he sticks around for more, but I imagine it depends on how well-received the series goes. Vogt-Roberts also directed the excellent coming-of-age film The Kings of Summer, and has long been attached to a Metal Gear Solid movie that may never happen.
As for the show’s star, that would be Younger and The Following actor Nico Tortorella. They (Tortorella is gender fluid) are set to play Felix, described vaguely by Deadline as “an honorable man of his word who isn’t afraid to fight for others’ safety and acceptance.” Tortorella joins the previously-cast Annet Mahendru, Aliyah Royale, Alexa Mansour, Nicolas Cantu, and Hal Cumpston. So not a lot of big names here. We’ll have to see if that affects fan interest because The Walking Dead and Fear the Walking Dead had at least a few recognizable actors to hook viewers.
