The Walking Dead Character Robert Kirkman Regrets Killing Off

If I had a dollar for every Walking Dead character that creator Robert Kirkman sentenced to death, I'd probably be able to buy a season of the show on Blu-ray and one of the comic trade editions. But with every celebration for a villain's demise comes the disappointment when an antagonist meets his or her maker. And Kirkman isn't immune to those feelings, as he revealed during a panel during this year's Comic-Con. Here's what he said when asked about characters he regretted killing off.

I mean, all of them and none of them, you know? I wish I was still writing Tyreese, yeah, that's a character I really enjoyed. You know, I wish I was still writing Tyreese on the show. But, it didn't keep him alive. [laughs]

Good that he has a humor about it, since so many lives were changed! Not, like, real lives, but whose life is real these days, anyway? Especially at Comic-Con.

It's kind of surprising that Tyreese is the person that Kirkman brought up, considering he was killed in the comics a long time ago. And his TV death wasn't exactly super recent, either. So that's a pretty good sign that Robert Kirkman had a real connection with the words that came out of Tyreese's mouth. Dude did have a pretty good mindset that got a weird translation from the page to the screen, and he'd be a welcome presence back in either medium. Here's hoping Chad Coleman puts on a wild wig and glasses and gets hired on for Season 7 in some capacity, right? Might be a stretch.

the walking dead tyreese comic tv

Oddly enough, the Walking Dead comic panel was moderated by Jason Mantzoukas of The League and How Did This Get Made? podcast fame. He kept the audience and panelists cracking up the whole time, and his response to Kirkman voicing his regrets was a suggestion that the show bring in Fast & Furious franchise star Tyrese Gibson, so that Kirkman could technically start "writing for Tyrese" again. Genius. To check out another story Kirkman shared, namely what Negan's name was originally going to be, head here.

We'll get to watch another character get killed (or whatever more violent Lucille-infused synonym you'd prefer) when The Walking Dead returns for Season 7 on AMC on October. 23 Check out our handy guide to see what else you can expect from the next batch of episodes, and for everything else hitting the small screen later this year, head to our fall TV schedule.

Nick Venable
Assistant Managing Editor

Nick is a Cajun Country native and an Assistant Managing Editor with a focus on TV and features. His humble origin story with CinemaBlend began all the way back in the pre-streaming era, circa 2009, as a freelancing DVD reviewer and TV recapper.  Nick leapfrogged over to the small screen to cover more and more television news and interviews, eventually taking over the section for the current era and covering topics like Yellowstone, The Walking Dead and horror. Born in Louisiana and currently living in Texas — Who Dat Nation over America’s Team all day, all night — Nick spent several years in the hospitality industry, and also worked as a 911 operator. If you ever happened to hear his music or read his comics/short stories, you have his sympathy.