At a time when The Walking Dead continues to be one of the most talked about pop culture phenomenons in recent history, one fan decided to go back to the roots of the entire spectacle. In a new question he tweeted to The Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman, he decided to ask one of the biggest questions many fans of the zombie outbreak franchise have had since it started. As you can see below, he decided to ask the following about the mysterious origin of the Walking Dead outbreak:
“So we never got an answer even with the comic finished, what caused the zombies?”
It’s an interesting question, especially when you consider he is correct – it’s something that was never properly touched upon in the comic books. While some fans would say that only enhances the horror of the overall story, that we may in fact never truly know what could have caused such a nightmarish apocalyptic outbreak, Kirkman still delivers with an answer. And it’s surprisingly simple:
“Space spore.”
https://twitter.com/RobertKirkman/status/1220084607573352448?s=20
Of course, with such a simple response, it’s difficult to take Kirkman seriously on the subject regarding the origin of the Walking Dead outbreak. And one fan even managed to sum up the authenticity of Kirkman’s response pretty well:
“He is either 100% trolling or 100% serious. Hint: Its always both.”
He is either 100% trolling or 100% serious. Hint: Its always both.
— Skullstachio (@Skullstachio) January 22, 2020
It definitely is hard to tell if that is a valid trigger for the outbreak as seen in The Walking Dead, nevertheless it still manages to be a solid homage to the movie that truly started it all. If you’ll remember, George A. Romero’s Night of the Living Dead which essentially started the modern flesh eating zombie genre, cites a similar space spore as the cause of their zombies. So it definitely is a nice little touch by Kirkman.
Perhaps it’s best left unsaid what really started the zombie apocalypse, but knowing that The Walking Dead continues to pay tribute to George A. Romero’s classic film is nothing but heartwarming for any horror fan.