• The Walking Dead has been reimagined as a 1950s Western in a fan-made trailer.
• The trailer portrays the zombie outbreak as having Communist origins, featuring iconic actors like Charlton Heston as Rick Grimes and Orson Welles as Negan.
• A Western version of The Walking Dead could explore new possibilities and storylines in a world of the undead.

The Walking Dead has been transformed into a 1950s Western movie in a surreal fan-made trailer, imagining what it would be like in a new setting and time period. The zombie series has had multiple backdrops over its many seasons, from desolate cities overrun with the dead, to quieter areas in forests across America. This has allowed the show to evolve over time, using the dangers of both zombies and humans to differentiate itself over time.

Now, Schrödinger’s Film Club has reimagined the zombie series as a 1950s Western, giving The Walking Dead characters new roles and actors befitting the time period.

The trailer gives the zombie outbreak a Communist origin, using them as a metaphor for the major global conflict of the time period. It offers a patriotic story of Rick Grimes, now played by Charlton Heston, trying to save his town from the undead, as well as Negan, portrayed by Orson Welles. The trailer features shots of zombie hordes and other familiar characters, including Daryl Dixon now portrayed by James Dean.

Could The Walking Dead Work In A ’50s Western Setting?

While The Walking Dead is a typical post-apocalyptic series, its lawless setting filled with people just trying to survive parallels that of classic Western movies. The zombies often act as a backdrop for a larger, human conflict, resulting in standoffs between groups of people who are willing to 𝓀𝒾𝓁𝓁 just to survive. Although the zombie franchise presents a world that’s much less organized and honorable than some Western settings, it still has some attributes that could be translated well into the film genre.

Although episodes like The Walking Dead series finale are more focused on rebuilding the world, a Western version of the show could instead be about preserving the way of life in that setting. Given the harsh, minimalist settings of many Western movies, a zombie apocalypse could be less damaging than it’s presented in a modern society. While there would still be the dangers of the undead, figures like Negan could simply be portrayed as outlaws, a familiar trope for the genre. This could inspire more hope of life going back to normal once threats of the dead have been eradicated.

Although a Western setting would be a far cry from the modern times the series is set in, a version of The Walking Dead reimagined for the past could result in interesting stories exploring a variety of new possibilities. Even zombie Westerns that treat their story similar to the TV show could be intriguing to watch play out, especially if they pull lots of inspiration from the series. With plenty of similarities on its own already, the zombie franchise shows how easily it could translate its story to a Western setting.