Long time fans of
The Walking Dead comics are aware that the show takes liberties all of the time with the storylines to keep things fresh and to introduce their own plot beats to surprise fans with. However, it came as a bit of a surprise when Tom Payne exited the show following
*SPOILER* his character Jesus' surprising death, especially as he is still alive in the comics.
Having been asked for an explanation for this, series creator Robert Kirkman addressed the issue by responding in
The Walking Dead #189 letter column with the following response.
“We certainly had our reasons... and they’ve been discussed in great detail online, so do a little searching if you like. I’ll just say ... Tom Payne was an AMAZING Jesus and I really loved his portrayal. And he couldn’t have gone out in a COOLER way, and that moment was so expertly written and directed that I think everyone involved is very proud of the insane debut of the Whisperers on the good old TV.”
In 2018 Kirkman also included these following comments regarding such things.
“It’s something that I’ve gotten used to, it happens from time to time on the show. Really if anything, it just makes me more excited. I think that any time that path is not set, any time you can’t look at a comic book series and go, ‘oh, I know exactly what’s going to happen,’ it makes things a little bit more exciting. And dealing with those unknowns, when we’re in the writers room, when we’re working on Season Nine, all those changes that kind of snowball out from that, it just makes for a better show.”
Tom Payne, the actor who portrayed Jesus, had previously been reported to be unhappy with the fact that he didn't get to see his character fleshed out the way his was in the books, especially missing some of his favorite moments he wished to see play out, such as going hand to hand with Negan and catching a grenade. Jesus was killed off halfway through Season 9 during the introduction of the infamous Whisperers, the latest in a line of threats the Survivors face. Here is what Payne had to say.
“Honestly, the comic books, I really enjoyed reading the comic books and I read them all because that was really the only thing that I had to go off of. Because we get the episodes like one episode before you get the script for the next episode. And so I kind of hung onto the comic books for a long time of like, ‘wow yeah, he does all this cool stuff,’ and I think that was the cause of a lot of my depression at times [laughs]. They gave me a very different beginning in the show, which was awesome, I loved that. And the fight with Lennie was great. And then the end, I thought the end was one of the [best] moments in the show, and I’m really happy to have left my mark in that way. But yeah, maybe I shouldn’t have read the comic books, because then I wouldn’t have been as disappointed as I have been at times.”
It was sad to see Jesus go, but on the bright side this does free Payne up for more work in the future, and even though he seems to look like the perfect Gambit, the actor actually wants to play Wolverine. What do you guys think of these comments, and who would you like to see Payne as in the Marvel Cinematic Universe?
The Walking Dead is an American post-apocalyptic survival series featuring a large ensemble cast of survivors of the zombie apocalypse, trying to stay alive from the near-constant threat of attacks from the mindless zombies, colloqially known as walkers. However, with the fall of humanity these survivors also face conflict from other living survivors who have formed groups and communities with their own sets of laws and morals, often leading to hostile conflict between the human communities.
The Walking Dead airs on AMC on Sunday nights at 9.