Season 7 of The Walking Dead has been a bit of a doozy. After an explosive and horrifying season premiere, the show slowed down quite a bit. Instead of featuring the large ensemble cast, we were given capsule episodes which focused on a character or two at a time. While this set up may have been necessary in order for the back half of the season to pay off, it was maddening to hardcore fans who need to see their favorite characters week after week. Luckily for us, it appears that the upcoming episodes of The Walking Dead are going to pay off in a big way, and they even relate to Star Wars. If that's not enough to give you a bonafide nerdgasm than I'm not sure what will.
The Walking Dead executive producer Tom Luse recently participated in a Q & A over on AMC's official website. Regarding the reunion seen in the midseason finale, Luse equated the future of TWD to Star Wars, saying:
This is the Rebel Alliance fighting back against The Empire. We all want that coming together of all these great characters, for them to see each other and realize that they as a group are strong because of the love and respect they show to each other. They know what that means and that gives them strength as well.
Someone call the Ewoks, because Rick and his allies are ready to take down the Empire that is Negan. There are certainly quite a few similarities in The Walking Dead to the original Star Wars trilogy, let's break it all down.
To start, there's the enemy in Negan and The Saviors. Negan (aka Emperor Palpatine) has absolute rule in the zombie apocalypse, and has enough troops and resources to destroy any revolutions. Negan's compound is basically the Death Star, and Rick's group is going to be desperately looking for the fault in the facility that will allow them to destroy their enemies. And if Negan is the Emperor, it's safe to say that Dwight is Darth Vader. While not nearly as cool as the Star Wars icon, Dwight is a physically deformed lieutenant who seems to still retain some of his former morality. It will likely take Dwight and Sherry's help to eventually take Negan out.
And while Rick and his group may be forming the Rebel Alliance, it's going to take more than Alexandria to rise up against The Saviors. They will need the help of the other subjugated communities: The Kingdom, The Hilltop, and Oceanside. While I don't have a witty way to relate these communities to famous Star Wars characters, I'm fairly certain there's a Lando reference to be made with The Hilltop. Oh and Ezekiel's tiger Shiva is totally Chewbacca.
The Walking Dead will return to AMC on February 12th. For a full list of winter premieres, check out our premiere schedule.
