A staple of the Comic-Con crowd, The Walking Dead has been bringing its wares to San Diego every summer for years, and this one was no exception. While it may have lost a few viewers in the last year or so, it's still a powerhouse genre show, and aimed to demonstrate that big changes are coming. Part of that was borne out by the Season 9 trailer that played at the series' panel and can now be watched online.
Featuring a time jump from the end of the All Out War storyline, the latest season finds things relatively peaceful for Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) and the rest. Well, as peaceful as is possible during a zombie apocalypse. Looking to the past for a way to survive into the future, the Alexandrians and other communities are using medieval methods and horsepower of a more traditional shape to rebuild and flourish.
Of course, as the imprisoned Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) points out, it can still all go to shit, and the seeds of dissent and doom are flowering within and without. Maggie (Lauren Cohan) is particularly unhappy with Rick's leadership and Negan's survival, and there are new threats to face alongside the usual danger of slavering zombies.
It'll also – spoiler alert – see the departure of Lincoln as Rick Grimes, with the panel confirming that he's already finished work on his last scenes. "This will be my last season playing the part of Rick Grimes," Lincoln told an unhappy crowd. "I love this show. It means everything to me. I love the people who make this show. I promise not to cry. I’ve done enough crying on screen. I’m particularly fond of the people who watch this show, you people, and this has been the most extraordinary, amazing, beautiful experience of my career, largely because of you guys and the relationship we have here with you, and with you, in this room, and also in rooms across America and the rest of the world. So I do want to thank you." While her deaprture wasn't directly addressed, Cohan will also be leaving the show this season.
But there will be plenty of new faces. As previously reported, the likes of Dan Fogler, Lauren Ridloff and Eleanor Matsuura have joined the show as characters called Luke, Connie (the first deaf main character on the series) and Yumiko. But the panel also revealed a raft of other newcomers, including Nadia Hilker as Magna, leader of the group that includes Connie and Yumiko, Samantha Morton as Whisperer leader Alpha (who will cause plenty of trouble), Angel Theory as Connie’s alert and protective sister Kelly, Zach McGowen as Justin, "a hostile Savior not interested in working together with the other communities," Rhys Coiro playing Jed, "A rebellious Savior who refuses to fall in line," Brett Butler on as Tammy Rose, "A salt-of-the-earth resident at Hilltop," with John Finn as Earl, "Hilltop’s blacksmith and Tammy Rose’s devoted husband."
The Walking Dead returns on 7 October.
Also representing at the Con? Sister series Fear The Walking Dead, which now boasts Lennie James' Morgan as an ongoing crossover. More potential links between the two shows were touted by the panel, and the team brought a trailer for the next chunk of Season 4, which will kick off on 12 August and follow the fallout of the death of Kim Dickens' Madison.
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