In a new interview with Screenrant, Khary Payton revealed that he has one remaining wish about the future of ‘The Walking Dead’ and his character, ‘King Ezekiel.’
During the conversation, the actor admitted he seeks a prequel like ‘Better Call Saul.’ Explaining his idea further, he said:
“I really would love to go back in time and explore how Ezekiel came to become a king in the apocalypse. Do a ‘Better Call Saul’ prequel and see how someone goes from being a zookeeper to having people decide that we’re going to listen to his outrageous idea of how you rebuild society and how somebody comes to decide that, ‘Yeah, this seems to be working. I’m going to run with this.'”
Still, Payton said he isn’t sure whether his plans would be taken into consideration as he doesn’t know the steps ahead for ‘The Walking Dead’:
“I think it would be actually really interesting, but I have no idea what their plans are. And if they do it, I would love to be a part of it. But I’m also a realist when it comes to these things, and I told myself, ‘All good things come to an end.’ It’s not the first time or the last time I’ve said goodbye to an awesome story that I was telling. And so I’m hoping that it’ll come back around.”
The Next Spin-off is ‘The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live’
With spin-offs like ‘Fear The Walking Dead,’ ‘Tales of The Walking Dead,’ and ‘The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon,’ the Walking Dead franchise has continued to grow. The latest addition, ‘The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live,’ is set to premiere on February 25, 2024, featuring Andrew Lincoln, Danai Gurira, and Pollyanna McIntosh.
According to Payton, how Ezekiel transitioned from a zookeeper and amateur actor to a post-apocalyptic leader has remained largely unexplored, so he believes he deserves a sequel to explore these. As the franchise continues with new spin-offs, whether this idea will come true remains uncertain but not impossible.
As for Payton, his career continues with his next venture being the voice of Chameleon Man in the upcoming TV series, ‘Avenging Justice.‘
