Every Sunday night, viewers of The Walking Dead are reminded of the show’s origins, under the helm of The Shawshank Redemption director Frank Darabont with his 'developed by' credit. He had refused to talk about his departure from the show, but he’s now breaking his silence as his new project, TNT’s Mob City, is set to air.
Darabont spoke with Entertainment Weekly, which asked if he’s ever watched an episode of the zombie drama since he left in July 2011, during the filming of the second season.
“No more than I would go to the wedding of somebody who broke my heart and left me for the Pilates instructor,” he told the magazine. “One does become very emotionally attached to the things that one does. I get tremendously invested. Why would I do that? Absolutely not, I won’t.”
Darabont made a similar statement while talking with Rolling Stone, going further to say that he’s just trying to put the experience behind him.
“It was a very, very deep and loving family, the cast and the crew, and to have that torn apart was – when somebody throws a hand-grenade into that situation, it's tremendously emotionally trying,” he explained to Rolling Stone. “So would I want to watch another episode of The Walking Dead after that? Are you fu**ing kidding me? No, you put that traumatic disappointment behind you and move on with your life.”
The director also told EW that he was initially cautious about doing TV again, but he’s looking forward to crafting another hit.
Darabont had nothing bad to say about the cast and crew, but he’s just focusing on Mob City now. The limited series, set in 1940s Los Angeles, stars former Walking Dead actor Jon Bernthal. The series premieres on Dec. 4.
image: AMC