Mmmm . . . TVVVV
McFarlane Toys has designed The Walking Dead Season Three Limited Edition Blu-Ray Case, which takes the form of the fish tanks full of floating decapitated heads that we saw in The Governor’s private quarters. Played by David Morrissey on the AMC series, The Governor is a scheming and scary character who has risen to power in this post-apocalyptic world through his ruthless tactics. Although he isn’t all work, he does like to enjoy a drink and unwind after a hard day by staring into a fish tank full of his victims’ heads.
The design for the case was made before Season Three of The Walking Dead was shot – or Morrissey was even cast as The Governor. “AMC gave us the news that The Governor was going to be in Season Three and was in all the scripts, but they didn’t even know what he was going to look like yet!” says Todd McFarlane. “So we knew we wanted to do something that reflected that, and was cool and creepy and the same time.”
“McFarlane has a very intimate relationship with AMC, so I was approving concepts on this Blu-Ray case before Season Three even aired,” Kirkman says. “So while we were building things on set, Todd and the team at McFarlane Toys were coming in and scanning actors and scanning props. So having them come in and do the fish tank with the severed heads while we were still building it for the show is a pretty cool thing, and I think makes these products much more accurate and cooler for the fans.”
“We thought it would be fun for the consumer, after buying the case and taking it home, had to get a little interactive, because we’re not supplying the water!” McFarlane says with a laugh. “So you’re going to have to fill up the tanks yourself, and we’ve got little hooks on the heads, so you can arrange them any way you see fit. You can hang them in a certain order, or you can just let them go to the ground and flop around. No one person’s case has to be exactly like the other’s.”
McFarlane adds that the case should have an electronic component, so the tank can light up. “It’s something where it should come across as an art piece, and then you can turn it to the side, and the wood paneling disguises where you can take out the discs.”
McFarlane Toys previously designed the limited edition box set for Season Two, which was a flip-top zombie head with a screwdriver through the eye. That case completely sold out and won some “Year’s Best” awards. “I’m sure every mom in America will not approve of this, nor will she run out and buy it!” offered McFarlane, “But once she gets out of the way, there’ll be tons of people that will enjoy it just for the good clean fun that it is.”
McFarlane also said that that he would enjoy a chance to enter the creative side of The Walking Dead. When asked about drawing something for the comic book he said that, “time permitting in my schedule, it’d be cool – I’ve studied the look of the run of that book, so it might work best if there was an annual or something where different artists could come in and bring their own look to the book. And on the TV end, it might be fun to come in and direct an episode or two.”
McFarlane also hopes to be able to create more toys for the popular TV series. “I was talking to the actor who plays Daryl (Norman Reedus), who is probably the most popular guy on the TV show, and he keeps bugging me for a thing of him on his motorcycle, which I think is a really cool idea. I think I could get away with that as a statue without having to put in a monster, because it would be a fairly uncommon-looking image of him.”
The final price and sale date for the Blu-Ray case aren’t set yet, but it’ll be available online and through most mass retail stores later this year . The Walking Dead returns Sunday, Feb.10 to AMC, and the Image comic continues every month.
Visit McFarlane.com and Amctv.com for updates on The Walking Dead TV show and it’s products.