The war is over. Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) has been defeated. Now, with a time jump taking us forward 18 months, what does the future hold for The Walking Dead?
Peace and tranquility? Not a bit of it. Negan might be caged, but a new threat is on its way: the Whisperers, led by the fearsome Alpha (BAFTA winner Samantha Morton). And with trouble brewing among former friends, it looks as though this next conflict will reap more heavy casualties – including, perhaps, Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln).
Here’s a few tasters from what to expect from the monster hit’s upcoming ninth season – its first under new showrunner Angela Kang and launching this October.
1. This “new chapter… couldn’t be more different” to season 8
“It’s a whole new beginning,” said ex-showrunner and now Walking Dead franchise boss Scott Gimple of the next season. “It’s a whole new show, in some ways. I think people are going to be very surprised.
“We did two years of ‘All Out War’ and this couldn’t be more different.“
2. Expect Rick to make an early exit
Think all this talk of a fresh start is hyperbole? Think again.
After nine years, leading man Andrew Lincoln will be exiting The Walking Dead this season, and while Rick Grimes’ ultimate fate will remain a secret until broadcast, several of Lincoln’s comments have hinted that he may have already wrapped filming.
“I got to do scenes with all of my favourite people this season,” he said in July. “As a farewell, it was the greatest present I could’ve got.”
He’s also referred to the “last two weeks of my filming” in the past tense. With season 9 set to continue shooting until near the end of 2018, that’d mean an early exit for Rick. 😢
3. Daryl won’t replace Rick as lead
© AMC Jackson Lee Davis
Rick’s exit will inevitably leave a rather large hole, but is Daryl really the man who’ll be filling it?
Swiftly following the news that Lincoln would be departing the series came reports that Norman Reedus was being given a significant pay-bump to replace him as series lead.
But, addressing the rumours, Reedus himself said: “You can’t take Rick’s place in the show. That’s not even possible. Everybody’s branching off and doing different things [this season], but everybody’s playing their same characters. Nobody’s like, ‘I’m the lead now’ – we don’t really talk like that on this show.”
4. Episode 4 contains a “f**king epic” Rick / Daryl scene
Reedus has however confirmed that he’ll share an “epic” scene with his old playmate Lincoln in episode 4 of the upcoming season, a sequence he claimed was the most challenging he’s ever had to film on The Walking Dead.
Daryl has, of course, had his fair share of emotionally intense moments. But by Reedus’s reckoning, an upcoming Rick and Daryl scene is even more emotional than, say, Beth’s death or the execution of zombie Merle.
“It was really well-written and we worked on it, and we really fine-tuned it and got it to a place where it became sort of effortless,” the star said. “It could’ve gone in so many different directions, but I think both of us are really proud of that.”
5. Look out for a more “urban setting”
The Walking Dead has traditionally made rural landscapes its stomping grounds – woods, farmyards, small towns – but season nine is set to shake things up aesthetically, starting with a trip to Washington DC.
“Getting a chance to get into DC, I couldn’t help but think about the opening to [1985 zombie movie classic] Day of the Dead, where you’re seeing the desolate open city,” said executive producer and special effects guru Greg Nicotero.
Above: The opening to Day of the Dead
Citing another film influence on the new season, Nicotero added: “We even did a shot that was reminiscent of the last shot of Planet of the Apes.” You maniacs!
6. The Walking Dead is about to get medieval on your ass
Though The Walking Dead will continue to push forward with the time jump, we’ll see the last remnants of old society continue to crumble.
With fuel running out and bullets hard to come by, our survivors will be relying more on hand-held weapons, and horses to get around.
“There are ways in which the world regresses, which is very interesting,” hinted Michonne actress Danai Gurira. “To step forward a bit was very refreshing. But we’re getting almost medieval at the same time as we’re moving forward.“
“Nature’s taking over, man-made structures are falling down and that provides challenges to our group,” said new showrunner Kang. “We see how intrepid they are, and how clever they are, in facing these challenges.”
7. This season will focus on the “core cast”
With a sprawling cast of 20 series regulars, it can sometimes be difficult for The Walking Dead to give every character their due.
Kang has promised “great material” this season for the entire cast, but has also indicated that there’ll be a renewed focus on the show’s most enduring characters.
“These are relationships that the audience has invested in for many, many years and we really love writing for them,” she said. “You will see a lot more screen time for some of these relationships, with Daryl and Carol [Melissa McBride], Rick and Maggie [Lauren Cohan], Michonne and Rick – you just want to dive deep into these relationships because there’s a lot of emotional weight to them.”
8. The Rick / Maggie feud might not play out how you expect
In addition to Andrew Lincoln departing the series, Lauren Cohan is also expected to exit The Walking Dead this year as Maggie Rhee. Could their feud – instigated by Rick’s decision to save Negan last season – end up costing them both their lives?
“We left on a pretty sharp note, a little tense,” Cohan said. “There’s a lot of conflict, but it’s conflict between people who love each other that are all working towards what should be a bigger, brighter, stronger future.”
But according to Cohan, that future “looks different for everybody, and that’s what we get to go into”.
“They’re not at each other’s throats, but they’re still not really down with the decisions that [each other has] made,” added Nicotero.
9. Negan could find redemption
Absolution for the man who battered Glenn to death with a barbed-wire baseball bat?
Jeffrey Dean Morgan doesn’t think it’s out of the question now that Negan’s reign of terror is over and he’s being held prisoner by his nemesis Rick.
“I think there is redemption to be had for Negan – whether or not we see that,” Morgan said.
“I think all the characters are going through some changes, and Negan is in that category. He’ll start the season in a position that you’ve never seen Negan before. And he’s going to have to learn to deal with it.”
© AMC
Wild as it might sound, Lauren Cohan even thinks that Maggie might eventually forgive Negan for his brutal butchery. “I think it’s going to be interesting, because we all have ideas about what we would do in certain situations and who we want to be and the legacy we want to leave. And when it really comes down to it, what do you do? That’s what the season’s about.”
10. This is a “very female-driven” season
With promises of an overhaul under new showrunner Kang, Norman Reedus has described the next 16 episodes as “a very female-driven season” with stories being “told in a different way”.
“It’s less bravado and more real depth this year,” he promised. “It feels like we’re shooting a Western, with feeling.“
And with zombies, naturally.
The Walking Dead returns to AMC on Sunday, October 7 in the US. The series is available on FOX and NOW TV in the UK.
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