Dead City created the most frightening monster in the entire The Walking Dead Universe.
In the penultimate, fifth episode of The Walking Dead: Dead City, titled Stories We Tell Ourselves, we were introduced to a horrifying new creature — the Walker King.
The creature was initially teased in the trailer. Many people thought it would be a new so-called “variant.”
Variant walkers is a concept that the universe has been ignoring for quite some time, and fans hoped that Dead City would explore this further, but as it turned out, the Walker King is not a variant, it’s basically four walkers stuck in each other.
But anyway, this monstrous entity, encountered by Maggie and Ginny in the sewers, was a sight to behold and a testament to the creative minds behind the show.
In a post-episode Insider, the showrunner Eli Jorné explained how the concept of the Walker King was born. He had envisioned a walker that was not just a single entity, but a terrifying amalgamation of multiple walkers tangled together.
The idea was to have one walker step through another, and then another walker stick its head through that walker, creating a grotesque, intertwined mass that moved as one. Well, the idea came to life in the episode, and we got one of the most (if not the most) terrifying walkers ever.
Jorné also revealed how they managed to create this monster. Bringing the Walker King to life was no easy task. It involved a team of puppeteers, all dressed in green, who were later edited out of the final footage.
They controlled the movements of the Walker King, from its arms and legs to the battery-operated faces and the puppet that emerged from its chest.
The Walker King must have drawn inspiration from a real-world phenomenon known as the Rat King. This occurs when a group of rats become entangled, with their tails knotting together.
In an interview with Sportskeeda, Karina Ortiz, who played Amaia in the show, shared her experience of working on the set. She confirmed that the set was as creepy as it appeared in the episode.
The detailed sets, coupled with the presence of the walkers, made for a truly eerie experience. She also appreciated the creativity behind the Walker King, calling it an incredible and unique character.