The Walking Dead universe is expanding in big ways with character-led spinoffs such as Negan and Maggie’s Dead City, Norman Reedus’ Daryl Dixon and the highly anticipated return of Andrew Lincoln and Danai Gurira for Rick and Michonne. But the franchise’s future hasn’t stopped fans from continuing to relive the show’s past, particularly the earliest era, when Jon Bernthal’s Shane Walsh was still alive and causing strife for the Grimes family. Because for all that the fanbase widely accepts Rick as the hero from that era, there’s no denying the swaths of audience members that feel as if Shane was done dirty, and that he was deserving of a less dour fate. The actor himself recently reflected on his quasi-antagonist’s continued popularity over the years, while speaking not-so-damningly about his actions.
Ahead of his return to the role of The Punisher/Frank Castle for the upcoming Disney+ series Daredevil: Born Again, Jon Bernthal was front and center for a Q&A panel at Fan Expo Dallas, where he talked about everything from hating his new beard to his podcast Real Ones to The Walking Dead. When one fans of the AMC horror drama asked for his take on why Shane remained a fan-favorite despite only starring in the first two seasons, the actor shared that he thinks Shane so quickly adapting to the apocalypse is part of what makes him so memorable. In his words:
I just think he was the first one to get it. you know what I mean? He was the first one to understand what that world was. And what great writing by Frank Darabont to figure that out. It was all perfectly mapped out. There's that scene where he's beating Ed by the river; he puts his hands on him, he hits him, he hits him again, and you could see it. He's like, 'You know, man, I could just fucking keep hitting you, dude, and there's nobody that's gonna do a damn thing about it. There's that discovery: 'Oh, shit, the world's changed.' Then he's tracking the gun on Rick in Season 1, and he gets him in his crosshairs. He's like, 'Shit, I could actually just kill you, and nothing would really happen.' So he was the first one to start figuring out that the rules were different. And then, you know, it leads to Otis and leads to everything that happened.
It's absolutely an interesting thought experiment for Walking Dead fans to imagine an alt-universe where Shane either killed Rick and took over leading the group, or managed to live beyond his TV fate in less murderously disruptive way. How much could his sense of practicality have aided in Team Family's journey over the years? Would the Whisperers have broken his brain, or would he be first in line to wear one of their masks? So many questions. (For what it's worth, Jon Bernthal says without a doubt that Shane would have killed Negan, so knock that particular inquiry off the list.)
The Fury star continued, sharing why the relatively short-lived role was such a big win for him as an actor, and revealed his opinions about Shane have been fueled in part by having rewatched those early episodes.
But it was all such a blessing for me, because it's very rare that you get to play a part that has a beginning, middle and end, and there's so many buoys along the water of your character's journey that make so much sense and are so well-written and so well-executed. But he was the first one to figure it out. So it's easy to go back now and say, 'Man, Shane was right.' Me and my son, my oldest, we're watching it right now. I'm like, 'Damn, that motherfucker was right.'
Now, does Jon Bernthal thinking Shane was "right" mean the actor agrees with all of the character's harmful and increasingly wonky actions? I'd assume not. But similar to how he can mentally side with Frank Castle's love for his family being a justifiable foundation for feats of vengeance, Bernthal can see the value in Shane coming to grips with the world being broken while others were still harboring hopes that society might return to normal.
I love the idea of the actor sitting on the couch watching Shane go all nutty-eyed in the mirror, pointing to his TV and saying, "Now there's a guy who knows a thing or two about a thing or two, my boy." And he also has a Groucho Marx mustache that he twirls a bit after saying it.
The Walking Dead fans can rewatch all of Shane’s episodes with a Netflix subscription, and if you’re like me, you’re quietly hoping Bernthal will return to the character proper in some capacity for a future episode of the anthology series Tales of the Walking Dead. (He did reprise Shane for Andrew Lincoln’s final TWD ep, “What Comes After,” but through the prism of Rick’s memory and not so much as the “real” Shane.) Meanwhile, the actor’s fanbase can also anticipate his return as Frank Castle for Daredevil: Born Again, which will be available in 2024 for those with Disney+ subscriptions.
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