Walking Dead Creator Robert Kirkman Wins Big In Battle Against AMC, $200 Million On The Line
The Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman is strolling out of the courtroom victorious after an almost decade-long lawsuit with the franchise’s home at AMC. Although Kirkman, executive producer Gale Anne Hurd, and others still have a battle with the network, they know that they’ll fight another day as a judge has denied AMC’s push to throw out their case entirely. This means that millions of dollars are still up in the air for the show’s creator and executive producers as they seek to get the money they say is fairly owed to them.
The Walking Dead Breach Of Contract?
The drama started three years ago in 2021 when the team behind The Walking Dead lodged a claim against AMC, suing the studio for $200 million.
According to those early documents, Robert Kirkman, Gale Anne Hurd, and the others claimed that the network had breached a contract and owed them some big bags of cash.
The decision that was made by U.S. District Judge Fernando Aenlle-Rocha this week was to keep the $200 million settlement in court, something that AMC was hoping to be wiped from the docket.
A Massive Franchise
As anyone with a TV would know, The Walking Dead franchise has been a colossal hit, not only with its flagship series but the multitude of spin-offs that have stemmed from it.
With Robert Kirkman and the others involved in the lawsuit making hand over fist from these titles, AMC’s lawyer cited the group’s push for the $200 million as a “crass money grab”.
With the judge’s decision to keep the ball rolling and see where the chips fall, it’s clear that the eyes of the law are taking this one very seriously.
Based Off The Comic Book
Long before Frank Darabont developed The Walking Dead for AMC, writer Robert Kirkman and artist Tony Moore created the Image comic books on which the show would be based.
While Moore would eventually drop from the project, Kirkman worked tirelessly to build out the universe and expand the story of the post-apocalyptic battle against the living dead. Through comics, graphic novels, and more, Kirkman did everything he could to assemble a serious franchise.
Hard To Grasp The Growth
When AMC picked up Darabont’s idea to adapt The Walking Dead into a TV series in 2010, it’s hard to say if they fully understood just how giant the series would become.
The show eventually bowed out in 2022 after a lengthy and profitable 11-season run but the match had already been struck and Robert Kirkman’s tale had expanded into franchise territory.
The first to do so was Fear The Walking Dead, which, like its predecessor, celebrated a lengthy run on the network, clocking in with eight seasons.
The Walking Dead Universe
Since then, the stories have continued in projects like The Walking Dead: World Beyond, Tales of the Walking Dead, and the more recent, The Walking Dead: Dead City, The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon, and The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live.
The latter of these will soon be celebrating its first season finale after a successful run that saw a reunion between two fan-favorite characters first dreamt up by Robert Kirkman in his original story.
