Angela Kang, the showrunner for The Walking Dead, has commented on who Michonne is after the six-year time jump.
If the 18 month time jump wasn’t enough for you at the start of The Walking Dead season nine, the show has now skipped ahead another six years in the wake of Rick’s presumed death.
But where does this leave Michonne, who is now missing such a huge part of her life? Well, showrunner Angela Kang has spoken to THR about who Michonne is all these years later: “The Michonne of the new world is confident in who she is. She’s extremely focused on safety and security. She’s figured out a way to close off her heart in some ways to avoid hurt. It’s not that she doesn’t care about people. It’s just what she’s decided needs to be done in order to protect her children and her community. She’s a very different person than we saw at the start of the season.”
Kang also touched on Michonne’s new child, R.J: “We talked at the beginning of the season about what happens after war. One of the things you often see is baby booms. It’s a sign of hopefulness. We wanted to show that Rick and Michonne were committed to each other, fully. They hadn’t gotten married the way others had; there was no proposal, no ring. And yet, they’re the couple who are completely committed to each other. It seemed like a sign of their commitment, and their optimism for the future. They believed they could bring a new child into this world and they could make the world better for that child.
“It’s very different from when Lori (Sarah Wayne Callies) was pregnant at a very different time in the apocalypse. Back then, they were worried that the baby wouldn’t even survive. It made sense, because it was all so fresh and new. If their baby cries, what happens to her, or to us? Michonne and Rick lived in a very different time, and we wanted to show that. We were very excited to do our [casting] search for our sweet little R.J. I think Antony, who plays the role, is absolutely adorable. Danai loves him. It was a fun process for us, imagining what a world with more children would look like, but also the tragedy that Rick never got to meet this child they were so excited about.”
SEE ALSO: Promo and clip for The Walking Dead Season 9 Episode 7 – ‘Stradivarius’
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The Walking Dead season 9 airs on Sundays in the US and on Mondays in the UK.
