THE WALKING DEAD Season 2 – Stephen King and Joe Hill out?

It seems like eons ago that Stephen King and his son, Joe Hill (writer of IDW’s Locke & Key), were in talks to come in and write an episode for Season 2 of The Walking Dead. That would’ve been a big treat for horror fans, but that was so long ago it seems like that might not happen now, at least not for the current season. The strange thing is that there was never a big “Nope, we’re never doing this,” like there was for George Romero. It just sort of faded into nothing.

Bleeding Cool has an interesting theory as to why the father/son team discreetly backed away from the series. The article suggests that negotiations ended around the time former showrunner Frank Darabont was fired, making it seem like King and Hill decided not to do the job without Darabont on board. There’s obviously no official statements backing this little theory up, but it’s an interesting one that suggests Darabont was closer to King and Hill than might have been first expected. It’s important to note that Darabont has directed a number of adaptations of King’s literary work, such as The Mist, The Green Mile and The Shawshank Redemption.

Maybe it’s a bad omen that so many well-known horror writers are steering away from The Walking Dead, but then again that is no reason to think this wonderful series needs celebrity writers. If it’s good it will be because of the regular writer’s who sit day in and day out in that writer’s room.