WARNING: The following contains spoilers for The Walking Dead: Deluxe Edition #10 by Robert Kirkman, Charlie Adlard, Rus Wooton, and Dave McCaig, on sale now.
In The Walking Dead: Deluxe Edition, fans are getting key insight into what went through Robert Kirkman's mind as he wrote those beloved characters years ago, with insight from the writer which serves as a commentary which is often found on a special edition DVD. We're gleaning knowledge into things he'd have done differently and also, certain mistakes he felt he made as a young writer.
Now, come Issue #8, a bombshell has been dropped indicating there was originally a very different plan in store for Glenn and Maggie.
In this issue, after Carl got shot, Rick's crew ended up at Hershel's farm where he's nursed back to health. Both parties bonded and at the dinner table, Glenn was still eyeing Carol, jealous that she liked Tyreese instead of him. As Hershel and all his kids, including the oldest Lacey, got to know Rick's camp, Maggie's spotted eyeing Glenn and later, when they're alone on the porch, it gets interesting as she requested sex from him so they can both be distracted from the despair of the zombie apocalypse.
However, Kirkman admits in the "Cutting Room Floor" section that Maggie was never meant to be a major character. In fact, he was contemplating having Lacey be the one to have sex with Glenn, which means she might have been the one who'd go on, marry him and then become a leader down the line. Seeing as Glenn had a thing for older women, it would have fit the established narrative at the time. Now, that may have meant Maggie would die later when zombies were accidentally released from the barn, where Hershel kept his reanimated loved ones.
This direction would most likely have changed the show up as well, as the AMC series had Glenn and Maggie becoming key leaders in Rick's team after she lost her family, eventually having a child in the wake of Negan killing Glenn. If Lacey was swapped in, she'd have probably become the leader of Hilltop and now, a key cog in Daryl's plan for the future after the Whisperer War.
What's interesting is Kirkman admits that when they were filming Season 3, he did think of Lacey because so many characters other than Maggie had names that started with "M" -- Michonne, Milton, Merle, Morgan, Mike and Maddie.
Ultimately, though, he chose Maggie and it seems as if he needed someone closer to Glenn's age and more relatable. Admittedly, this works better as Maggie's boyfriend never came back when the outbreak happened, so she was depressed, thinking he died or abandoned her. As for Glenn, he was clearly heartbroken with his unrequited love. Thus, it just felt like these younger folks needed each other to forget the world of walkers for a bit, not anticipating the bittersweet journey that lay ahead of them.