The Walking Dead's Big Secret: Why Do They Never Say 'Zombie'?
The Z-word is not allowed on The Walking Dead.
If you've been following the hit TV series based on Robert Kirkman's comic books, you might have noticed something peculiar. Despite the hordes of undead roaming the post-apocalyptic world, no one ever says "zombie." Have you ever wondered why?
During the long history of TWD Universe, we’ve heard so many names for zombies: walkers, geeks, lurkers, empties, biters, creepers, roamers, infected, and so many others, but never zombies.
Well, it turns out there's a pretty simple explanation for this mystery. In 2016, Kirkman himself shed some light on the matter during an interview with Conan O'Brien.
When Kirkman cooked up The Walking Dead universe, he had this notion to set it in a world where zombie stuff wasn't a thing. Yes, you heard that right — there are no zombie movies or stories within the TWDU.
Kirkman's intention was to make the characters in his comics and the subsequent TV series oblivious to the concept of zombies. They had never seen a zombie movie or heard any zombie lore. They had zero idea that the only way to take down a zombie was to go for its brain.
This lack of knowledge forced the survivors to learn on the go, making their journey all the more challenging and thrilling.
By avoiding the use of the word "zombie," Kirkman and the creators of The Walking Dead were able to craft their own unique zombie world. Instead of going with the usual "zombie" label, they came up with different names to describe the undead.
In the series, they are commonly known as walkers. This creative decision opened up a world of possibilities and allowed the show to establish its own rules for the undead.
As Kirkman himself explained, "No one inside The Walking Dead has seen a Romero movie, so they can't get the rules from that. We felt like having people not use that word would separate it from that a little bit, making it a little bit clearer."
TWD Universe is currently expanding with a number of spinoffs. Fear The Walking Dead has recently aired its mid-season finale, while TWD: Dead City has dropped its second episode.
The upcoming shows also include TWD: Daryl Dixon and TWD: Rick & Michonne.
Source: Team Coco