‘The Walking Dead’ season 4: Robert Kirkman on lack of David Morrissey, The Governor
Where in the world is The Governor on “The Walking Dead” season 4? That has been a question that many have asked since the very beginning of the season. We know that David Morrissey is still out there, and he is also still a series regular. So for now, it is all a question of when, and not if, he will turn up and start to inflict more mayhem on Rick and the survivors of the prison.
But why is he gone right now? While it does first of all make a good bit of sense logistically that he would be away to regroup and recover after the deadly end to season 3, it turns out that it is something more than just that. As comic creator Robert Kirkman tells The Hollywood Reporter, much of the decision for the time being to shelve the character was actually based around the thoughts and desires of the current showrunner in Scott Gimple, who really feels right now that there was starting to be a little too much of him:
“We’ve just devoted an entire season to the conflict of the Governor and [new showrunner] Scott Gimple came in and was like, ‘You know what? I’m sick of the Governor.’ He actually said that. It’s not that we don’t like that character; it’s just that we needed to give that character a break. Going right back into that would seem like more retread of season three, and that’s the thing we don’t want to do.”
Kirkman also added that when The Governor does come back, there is a certain bit of mystery as to how this whole experience of the past year will have changed him:
“The Governor is going to see quite a leap in who he is and what his motives are. The Governor that we saw at the end of season three was this homicidal maniac who lost control of his town, and we haven’t seen him for a long time. He’s been stewing, and we may be seeing a very different Governor when we finally do catch up to him. We like to keep people guessing, and he definitely will return this season. Just when you think things are getting to a breaking point, that’s when the Governor layer will be thrown in to make things that much more deadly and dangerous. It’s going to be a really big, memorable moment in the show.”
You can see a sneak peek for Sunday night’s new episode here, and what we have seen so far suggests that there is not going to be an appearance from The Governor in it, either. We’re okay with waiting for now, and most of that is just because it feels like the show is doing right by the stories that they have.
Photo: AMC