TWD - becoming fantasy/scifi mash -up

I dunno. The general theme (pulling together an army from different villages being oppressed) goes way back in time (both in stories and in ancient history). TLOTR can't take credit for creating that concept. Just like the recently-released "A Dog's Purpose" can't claim they created the "boy and his dog" theme.

There are only so many stories and concepts for stories that can be told. Heck, Star Wars is just a retelling of The 7 Samurai. If you want original concepts, you'd need to go waaay back, before Shakespeare, before Greek tragedies, before The Bible.....

That all said, I respect your point and can see some loose parallels in your comparisons. But I personally don't consider that a purposeful copy of concept or theme. Those battle themes (and that strategic approach of amassing an army for battle) can be found in thousands of movies, shows, stories, books, legends....