While he doesn't have a huge role in it, Matthew Lillard can currently boast being part of the biggest movie of the weekend, the critically eviscerated sequel that fans can’t get enough of, Five Nights at Freddy’s 2. The goal is for him get a more worthwhile amount of screen time in a hypothetical third feature, and I sincerely hope it happens, since he’s easily the most watchable human in either movie. As it happens, Lillard was nearly one of the most watchable parts of an entirely different mega-popular horror franchise, The Walking Dead.

Personally, I think it’s fun to imagine a world where the Scream vet (and upcoming Scream 7 co-star) portrayed the role of Carl Grimes, son of Andrew Lincoln’s Rick, but I know that doesn’t make any sense. In reality, Lillard very temporarily grasped the role of the show’s skull-demolishing antagonist Negan, at a point when Jeffrey Dean Morgan seemed like he might not jump on. Speaking to Comic Book Resources about FNAF 2, Lillard shared the following:

The majority of TV roles do not require casting directors to call in household celebs for four auditions, but Negan was certainly an exception to many rules of the small screen, and his arrival helped The Walking Dead both reach its peak audience, while also being the cause for the viewership to cascade downward. Not that it was Jeffrey Dean Morgan in and of himself that turned fans away, but rather the character's brutally unforgivable actions upon his arrival in Season 6, which then carried into the Season 7 premiere.

So how close did it get? Well, if Jeffrey Dean Morgan had dropped his phone in a toilet or had an untimely cold, Walking Dead fans might have had an entirely different reaction to the villain's game-changing introduction. Lillard continued, saying:

Wowzers and then some. To think that Matthew Lillard could have gone from Twin Peaks' enigmatic return season to playing one of the most celebrated comic book villains of the modern era. This is totally one of those points in life where I wish Sliding Doors-esque situations where possible, and I could watch a parallel universe's version of The Walking Dead where the SLC Punk vet is the one filling out Negan's leather jacket while swinging his beloved bat Lucille down on character's busted skulls. Also in that alt-dimension, Rick Grimes is played by fellow Scream killer Skeet Ulrich.

Lillard doesn't think he would have shared the same story arc as JDM's Negan, given their physical differences and performance types, and I wonder if things would have skewed closer to the comics in that respect. The Walking Dead has long treated Negan as something of an unkillable anti-hero, with two seasons so far of the spinoff Dead City focused on his continued survival. That said, I think it wouldn't have been long before Lillard's version also attained anti-hero status, give how affable the actor is.

Also, for what it's worth, Lillard gave Morgan props, saying "He's great - different and masculine." In that other reality, I wonder if Lillard would have bulked up to fill out that leather jacket that much more snugly.

Without any zombies around to massacre, the actor can be found in Five Nights at Freddy's 2, currently playing in theaters, with upcoming arcs in one of my most anticipated upcoming horror TV series, Mike Flanagan's Carrie and the second season of Daredevil: Born Again. Here's hoping he lands a DCU role with his Scooby-Doo director James Gunn.

As one of TV’s most successful and spinoff-able franchises, The Walking Dead is seemingly still showing no signs of creeping to a halt, with AMC execs no doubt hoping the highly anticipated The Ones Who Live spinoff brings wayward viewers back into the fold with the returns of Andrew Lincoln’s Rick and Danai Gurira’s Michonne. But if everything goes completely optimistically, franchise head honcho Scott Gimple has tentative plans for the biggest (and possibly best) TWD spinoff yet.

Beyond Rick and Michonne’s comeback show, the lineup of upcoming Walking Dead shows includes second seasons of Daryl Dixon (which will welcome back Melissa McBride’s Carol) and Dead City’s drama between Negan and Maggie. While speaking at a TCA Winter Press Tour panel (via TheWrap), Gimple addressed the grand notion that TWD’s various post-apocalyptic offshoots could perhaps one day come together for a mega-spinoff. In his words:

Having started off as a writer and producer before rising up the ranks to showrunner and then Chief Content Officer, Scott Gimple has had his hands in the Walking Dead cookie jar for the bulk of the franchise’s existence, so he’s long been able to lay groundwork for ideas and concepts meant to be explored in later seasons or entirely different projects. Even if those ideas don’t actually come to fruition, the seeds are still there for germination.

And while everyone’s mileage will vary when it comes to the spinoffs and the O.G. show itself, a super-spinoff could be the best thing this brand ever produced. We could see Dwight and Negan together again, for better or worse, but I think it would be more fun to witness all the character combos that wouldn’t exist if not for spinoffs colliding. How badass would it be to see Maggie, June, Hope, Isabelle and Evie teaming up? (Extra points if Negan’s absent wife Annie is also involved.)

Not that Gimple shared any specifics by way of the breadcrumbs he was referring to. One might imagine quite a few of those easter egg details would involve the CRM, which has been the largest and most damaging piece of interconnective tissue between the flagship horror-drama and its spinoffs. But there are no doubt plenty of moments that may have seemed curious in the moment, but would make all the more sense if they were revealed to be stepping stones to a bigger universe. 

It’s a big and exciting concept, but Scott Gimple knows full well that hopes and intentions don’t always go where one hopes, and made sure to point out that an all-encompassing spinoff isn’t the only way things could go, saying:

Will any of those pivots involve Rick, Michonne, Jadis or any of the new characters that will be introduced in the latest new series? I guess we need to see how things shake out there before we start laying out hopes for either a second season, or for the duo to become the new leaders of the free world at large. In Richonne We Trust!

The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live will debut on AMC and AMC+ on Sunday, February 25. The O.G. series' full run can be streamed with a Netflix subscription, and head to our 2024 TV premiere schedule to see what else will be popping up soon.

For years, The Walking Dead fans were mentally preparing themselves for Andrew Lincoln to return as Rick Grimes on the big screen, only for those plans to get a massive tweak at this year’s Comic-Con, where it was revealed Lincoln and Danai Gurira would be reuniting for a six-episode limited series on AMC. That series is perhaps the highest-profile spinoff possible, in a lineup that also includes Norman Reedus’ Daryl-focused offshoot and the currently filming Isle of the Dead follow-up with Maggie and Negan. While many facts about each of those shows are still behind lock and key, franchise ringleader Scott Gimple thankfully shared some new details during Talking Dead’s preview for everything coming up in the Walking Dead universe.

Rick And Michonne’s Spinoff 

With Tales of the Walking Dead co-star Terry Crews sitting on the Talking Dead couch as interested as anyone could be about everything being shared about the new series, Scott Gimple & Co. craftily made audiences wait until the very end of the special for all things Rick and Michonne to come up. But at least his description makes the new project sound like it’s exactly what fans are hoping for. Here’s how he started:

Maybe it’s just me, but Gimple seemed to be speaking bemusedly when addressing the fact that he and others have worked for as long as they have on nailing down the proper way to approach a Rick-geared follow-up. Now that it’s finally gone beyond the concept stage and is closing in on the “let’s actually film this thing” stage, the former Walking Dead showrunner can at last use concrete descriptions like “epic and insane love story” to describe the project without having to worry about things pivoting in a different direction. 

But even though fans will get to experience all the feels that are expected to accompany Andrew Lincoln and Danai Gurira’s on-screen reunion as Rick and Michonne, that doesn’t mean we’re only going to see the iconic characters in ooshy-gooshy mode. Scott Gimple said they will definitely tap back into their more primal and violent selves.

How all of this will factor into the CRM group that took Rick away after he nearly died in Season 9 is anyone’s guess, but I’m betting there will be a lot of uniformed bodies on the ground when Rick and Michonne walk off into the metaphorical sunset. 

Daryl's Spinoff

On the Daryl side of things, not a whole lot of info has come out in the aftermath of Walking Dead star Melissa McBride deciding to back out of co-leading that spinoff as Carol. But now Scott Gimple has revealed exactly where Daryl will resurface in the world following the mothership series’ finale later this year, and confirmed Talking Dead host Chris Hardwick’s interjection on how it ties into TWD: World Beyond’s series finale (which will also pay off in TWD proper’s final eight episodes). 

If anybody had questions about how Maggie and Negan were going to make it from the mainland to Manhattan in all its post-apocalyptic glory, those questions will no doubt be magnified several times over by the prospect of Norman Reedus' redneck survivor crossing an entire ocean. (You just know he's one of those people who'll just shout the same thing louder when talking to someone who doesn't understand English.) That said, I would get a kick out of seeing Daryl completely change up his personality while in a place where literally no one knows him, assuming we don't later learn that someone else from the Walking Dead stable will join him in the spinoff. He should get some thin glasses and a lab coat, stat.

Speaking to both France and Isle of the Dead's NYC as settings for this new era of Walking Dead content, Scott Gimple said:

 While fans won't get to see any of those spinoffs until 2023 and beyond, The Walking Dead will return to AMC relatively soon for its final eight episodes, which will kick off on Sunday, October 2, at 9:00 p.m. ET. 

Fans of the zombie apocalypse series The Walking Dead got their hopes up, and then crushed, by writer and showrunner Scott Gimple. TWD’s live aftershow, The Talking Dead, announced its lineup for December 5, which includes a super secret surprise guest. Gimple got fans a little riled up with a simple tweet, and some thought that a fan-favorite actor would be showing up.

Scott Gimple took to Twitter shortly after hyping up fans about the secret guest to apologize after many thought it was Andrew Lincoln, who portrayed Rick Grimes on the series. He explained that although the news not about Rick Grimes, it’s something that’s “been a long time coming.”

Some fans were calling out Scott Gimple knowing that most of the Walking Dead fans would probably be hopeful the news would involve Rick Grimes. And just like the series, an apocalypse was almost started, as one Twitter user said:

The guests for the upcoming episode include Lennie James, Pollyanna McIntosh, Fear The Walking Dead executive producer Ian Goldberg and The Walking Dead: World Beyond executive producer Matt Negrete. One fan was pulling together all the theories as to who could be the surprise guest, and only kept coming up with one logical answer:

Meanwhile, one fan said what basically everyone wanted and even now, that’s still true:

While there were fans who were hopeful it would be about Rick Grimes, another was thinking it could possibly be Jeffrey Dean Morgan to promote a Negan spinoff:

Even though fans likely won’t find out who the surprise guest is until The Talking Dead actually airs the new episode, hopefully it will be one that will be well worth the wait. And though it looks like it won’t be about Rick Grimes, hopefully Andrew Lincoln will appear on the aftershow soon.

As for a Negan spinoff, that would definitely be big and something that has been a long time coming. Fingers crossed that whoever is the surprise guest will be just as big and have news just as big. If anybody would know how to hype fans in that case, it would surely be Scott Gimple.

Don’t miss The Talking Dead Sundays on AMC!

Big changes are on the way to the zombie apocalypse universe on AMC, and not just because The Walking Dead is officially going to end after Season 11. Another spinoff of sorts is on the way in the form of an anthology series, called Tales of the Walking Dead. While details about the new project are relatively scarce, The Walking Dead universe chief content officer Scott Gimple has revealed that fans should expect the unexpected. Surprises are in store.

During the September 27 preview special for the Walking Dead universe on AMC, Talking Dead host Chris Hardwick read a statement from chief Walking Dead content officer Scott Gimple, saying:

While there are some obvious choices for characters who could anchor their own anthology episode or arc, such as the infamous Negan, Scott Gimple has promised more than just old favorites at the center of the action. All things considered, it sounds like there isn't a whole lot that Tales of the Walking Dead won't be able to do, if jumping around the Walking Dead timeline and universe is going to be an option!

I for one doubt that Scott Gimple's tease of music as one of the "different formats" for the anthology means that a musical episode is on the way, but his mention of animation is interesting, especially in light of what some other shows have produced due to production shutdowns in 2020. The Blacklist on NBC proved that a combination of live-action and animation can work, and The Walking Dead's own Greg Nicotero produced an animated Halloween special for Shudder while Creepshow Season 2 production was on hold.

The promise of the anthology series also indicates that AMC is up to continue the main Walking Dead action, if in a different form than the eleven seasons of the parent series. There is no shortage of existing Walking Dead characters whose backstories haven't been revealed, or were only revealed via exposition rather than shown on screen. For example, viewers got some heartbreaking flashbacks to Abraham's early days in the zombie apocalypse, but that's not the case for most of the major characters.

All of this said, Tales of the Walking Dead might not hit the airwaves to surprise viewers any time too soon. AMC already has a super-sized Season 11 of The Walking Dead that isn't expected to finish airing until late 2022, and the spinoff centered on Daryl and Carol is expected in 2023. Throw in Fear the Walking Dead and new spinoff The Walking Dead: World Beyond, and there should be no shortage of zombies on AMC even if Tales of the Walking Dead might be a ways off.

The long-awaited Season 10 finale of The Walking Dead will air on Sunday, October 4 at 9 p.m. ET on AMC, immediately followed by the series premiere of The Walking Dead: World Beyond at 10 p.m. ET. Fear the Walking Dead with a seemingly changed Morgan will take The Walking Dead's 9 p.m. ET Sunday time slot starting on October 11. For some viewing options that don't involve zombies in the not-too-distant future, check out our 2020 fall TV premiere schedule!

While The Walking Dead universe is at an unfortunate standstill at the moment, the franchise will be ending 2020 in a huge way, with Fear the Walking Dead and TWD: World Beyond both debuting in October along with the flagship drama's long-awaited Season 10 finale. It's even been announced that The Walking Dead's tenth season is expanding with more episodes in 2021. While all things Dead are looking promising for the future, one fan asked executive producer and former showrunner Scott Gimple about looking back to the past for a prequel project.

During The Walking Dead's pre-recorded panel for Comic-Con@Home, moderator Chris Hardwick posed a fan question to Scott Gimple that asked which character he would want leading a spinoff series taking place completely in the pre-apocalyptic time setting. With nary a second of hesitation, which is relatively rare for a guy who delivers 90% non-straightforward answers to Walking Dead questions, Gimple replied with:

As hard as it might be to believe, Steven Yeun has been absent from The Walking Dead for nearly four years now, having been officially killed off in the Season 7 premiere. That rage-inducing episode also featured a lovely fantasy dinner sequence that I kinda wish was the reality, while everything else that happened since could be marked down to being a bloody fever dream. In any case, probably the only way fans could ever see Glenn again is through some form of a prequel series focusing on his life before he crossed paths with Dale, Carol and the Grimes family. (Minus a surprise flashback moment for Maggie or something along those lines.)

Now, none of this means that anyone at AMC is giving a thumbs up to a Glenn Rhee spinoff series, and this was (at least for now) just Scott Gimple having some fun during a Comic-Con panel where audiences and press were completely absent. Of course, Gimple IS the Walking Dead franchise's Chief Content Officer, so he and comic book creator Robert Kirkman would be the main pair who could get a standalone Glenn prequel going, should anyone at the network be interested in ordering up such a project.

Of course, Steven Yeun likely wouldn't want to return for a premise where he's supposed to be playing a younger version of himself, since he previously had no interest in doing that. Yeun also spoke out a couple of times in recent years about Glenn being underappreciated and not given enough of his own core storylines. So while he doesn't necessarily have bad blood with The Walking Dead, he isn't exactly jumping at the chance to get back into that universe. Granted, he did re-team with Robert Kirkman for the lead voice role for his upcoming Amazon superhero series Invincible, from Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, seemingly proving his relationship with Kirkman is genial enough.

While Scott Gimple wasn't willing to speak much more about a potential Glenn spinoff, the EP did continue long-game teasing that fans are going to see The Walking Dead branch out in several different directions in the future. In his words:

Does that mean Steven Yeun could possibly return for a single Glenn-centered episode or special, as opposed to a full-blown TV season? Technically, yes. Although Gimple could just as well be talking about installments focusing on The Governor, or the Greene family, or Rick Grimes' brother that was only barely mentioned on TV (while being explored for the Alien comic one-off.) As it usually goes with this show, being patient until later is key.

The Walking Dead is set to return to AMC for its Season 10 finale on Sunday, October 4, at 9:00 p.m. ET. Stay tuned to CinemaBlend for more TWD updates, and head to our 2020 Fall TV schedule to see what's new and returning to the world.

Spoilers ahead for the most recent episode of The Walking Dead. If you haven't seen Michonne's last episode, look away!

AMC's The Walking Dead is currently in the midst of its whopping tenth season on the air, and is showing no signs of slowing down. The zombie apocalypse has been made into two spinoffs, and there's also an upcoming movie for Andrew Lincoln's Rick Grimes that's heading to theaters. The most recent episode "What We Become" was the final episode featuring Danai Gurira as Michonne, but could she end up appearing in the developing Walking Dead movie?

When Andrew Lincoln departed The Walking Dead after nine seasons, it was unclear if the show would recover. But the apocalyptic drama did just that, moving forward with a time jump. Michonne only just exited herself, specifically in search for Rick. It seems logical that Danai Gurira might star alongside Andrew Lincoln in the upcoming movie, and Walking Dead boss Scott Gimple recently spoke to that possibility, saying:

How delightfully cryptic. It looks like The Walking Dead has been plans for its movie, as well as Michonne herself. But the fans would no doubt love to see her reunite with her partner, before eventually traveling back home to Judith. Of course, that'll likely be a long time coming.

Scott Gimple's comments to THR don't give any concrete details about Michonne's future, but they'll still likely make fans of the franchise very happy. While The Walking Dead has lived exclusively on the page and small screen, the zombie apocalypse will head to theaters for Rick Grimes' movie. Danai Gurira has become a movie star in her own right as Okoye in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, so she seems like an asset to bring to the film cast.

While Michonne seems like an obvious choice to join The Walking Dead movie after her last episode, Scott Gimple also pointed out that the character is dynamic enough to lead her own project. But Danai Gurira's sword wielding survivor left the show in search for her partner, and the father of her children. We'll just have to wait and see.

In the same interview, Scott Gimple provided an update on the status of the Rick Grimes movie, saying:

That's certainly exciting. It looks like the script for The Walking Dead movie is finally coming together. There's no indication of when the mysterious movie could start filming, and it doesn't have a release date yet. Although with various projects being pushed back over concerns for the COVID-19 pandemic, it might be hard to get a slot in theaters for the next year or so.

The Walking Dead airs Sundays on AMC. In the meantime, check out our 2020 release list to plan your next trip to the movies.

The Walking Dead has had a fascinating life on the small screen, as the apocalyptic became a pop culture sensation with no signs of slowing down. The property has been expanded to two spinoffs, and there is also a Rick Grimes movie being developed, which will get a full theatrical release. News of the movie was a shocker, and helped to soften the blow once Andrew Lincoln was written off the AMC flagship series. Although Scott M. Gimple recently teased how the new movie will raise the stakes even further for Rick.

Scott M. Gimple is the chief content officer for The Walking Dead, and has had a long tenure with the zombie drama. He recently spoke about the mysterious Rick Grimes movie, which doesn't have a title or completed script yet. While its contents are a complete mystery, Gimple recently spoke to how Rick's journey through the apocalypse will be altered in the developing movie. As he put it,

Well, that sounds exciting. The sky is the limit regarding Rick's story in The Walking Dead movie. Things will reportedly be heightened, both literally and figuratively. We last saw him being taken away on a helicopter, after all.

Scott M. Gimple's comments to EW are cryptic, but enticing nonetheless. The Walking Dead franchise's secrets must be kept, and the Rick Grimes is one of the overarching questions surrounding it. But while speaking in vague terms about the protagonist's return to the screen, it seems that even his many years surviving threats (both living and dead) have still not prepared him for what's going to come in the upcoming movie.

Related: The Walking Dead Star Teases New Walkers In The Rick Grimes Movie

We last saw Rick Grimes early in Season 9 of The Walking Dead, as he seemingly perished in order to protect his people from walkers. But he was actually found by Jadis/Anne, the former leader of The Scavengers. She's been shown communicating with a mysterious helicopter, and convinced whoever picked her up to bring along Rick as well. The flew off to an unknown destination, and haven't seen from since.

While it originally seemed impossible, The Walking Dead managed to move without Rick Grimes. A time jump was used to age the characters and their communities, and reveal a brand new world. But the fandom would no doubt love to see Rick on the big screen. Andrew Lincoln's performances have always been stunning, and a movie will be a very different type of storytelling.

The Walking Dead airs Sundays on AMC, and CinemaBlend will keep you updated on the developing Rick Grimes movie as details are revealed. In the meantime, check out our 2020 release list to plan your next trip to the movies.

The young ages of the characters in The Walking Dead spinoff will be a vital part of its story. As anticipation continues to build for the spinoff, so do the supply of teases regarding what fans of the franchise can expect. The first look at the still-untitled Walking Dead spinoff gave fans a peek at the characters’ teasing the “new world” ahead.

What does this new world entail? The second Walking Dead spinoff will introduce viewers to a group of young people who have grown up in the wake of the zombie apocalypse. Discussing how the characters’ youth will play into the spinoff, The Walking Dead Chief Content Officer Scott M. Gimple told THR:

It sounds like The Walking Dead franchise will continue to shake things up with its latest spinoff. This time, utilizing young adult characters to tell the story. What Scott M. Gimple is saying parallels what he has teased about how the upcoming series will differentiate itself from its predecessors. The key that he seems to be turning is the latest spinoff’s youth factor.

As Scott Gimple said, the third installment in The Walking Dead franchise will focus on two sisters. Gimple previously teased the young characters have grown up behind the safety of walls, which makes their journey a different one than the characters on the brutal parent series. In that vein, the spinoff promises a fresh and compelling angle.

Will this new show be The Walking Dead franchise’s answer to Riverdale and other teen genre series? Maybe. It is not as if the original series or its first spinoff have ignored younger characters altogether, though. As far as The Walking Dead is concerned, the future of Rick Grimes’ daughter Judith is currently in question as Michonne prepares to exit the show.

The upcoming Walking Dead spinoff is set a decade after the zombie apocalypse turned the world upside down. Hence, its characters’ next step in coming-of-age seems to be a large part of the spinoff’s dramatic anchor. Will this newfound perspective give the spinoff an edge in the ratings that its predecessor series has struggled to recently find?

There is still a lot of time left to find out. The latest Walking Dead spinoff is still off a bit into the future as it is set to arrive next year. Regardless of the original show’s ratings performance as of late, an AMC executive has assured that there is a lot of The Walking Dead’s story left to tell, so stay tuned!

The next (untitled) Walking Dead spinoff will premiere in the spring of 2020. New episodes of The Walking Dead will air this fall on Sundays, at 9 p.m. ET, on AMC. You can currently stream past seasons of the zombie drama on Netflix, among new content.

How will the new spinoff in The Walking Dead franchise be different from the previous two shows? Great question. As you know, another spinoff is on its way. Not too long ago, fans got their first look at the latest series coming from The Walking Dead’s sprawling universe.

The as-yet-to-be-titled series has already received a 10-episode order. Its premise centers on two females who have grown up in the world of a post-zombie apocalypse. The series is set to debut in the spring of 2020. How will the spinoff differentiate itself from The Walking Dead and the already airing spinoff, Fear the Walking Dead? AMC’s Chief Content Officer, Scott M. Gimple told Deadline:

The protagonists of the latest Walking Dead spinoff should be in for a considerable amount of adventure and danger. It sounds like they have grown up without the harsh realities that youngsters like Judith or her late brother, Carl, experienced. Of course, life in a post-zombie apocalypse is all that Judith has ever known.

The Walking Dead franchise will be shaking it up as the characters in the new spinoff venture beyond the safety of their semi-shielded lives. What are they looking to get in return? According to Scott M. Gimple, they have not had to go toe-to-toe with walkers and the dangers of the outside world’s existence. Why trade that in?

The teaser released a few months ago hinted that The Walking Dead spinoff was going to show fans places and people they have not seen before. That was an indication of how it would distinguish itself from the original show and Fear the Walking Dead. The spinoff will feature characters who have had different experiences than those in its predecessors.

For example, the harsh realities of living in The Walking Dead universe are starting to catch up with Carol. A story is playing out between her and Gamma, which actress Samantha Morton teased fans should expect “extraordinary” things from. Ten seasons in, the original series is not planning on running out of story any time soon, but it's already easy to see how the latest spinoff will be very different.

Whenever you think The Walking Dead should end, its universe is continuing to grow with this new chapter. It would seem that the upcoming series has a lock on how it plans to shake things up within the confines of the franchise. A different angle is on its way in the form of how the characters come into this dangerous world.

They have not had to deal with walker conflicts or wars with The Whisperers, and will be a bit unprepared for life outside their walls. Find out how their plunge into the outside world goes when the latest Walking Dead spinoff makes its way to the air. It will not be much longer!

The upcoming Walking Dead spinoff is set to premiere in spring 2020. New episodes of The Walking Dead are airing this fall on Sundays, at 9 p.m. ET, on AMC. You can currently stream previous seasons of the zombie drama on Netflix, among new content.

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The Walking Dead is a massive franchise, which shows no signs of slowing down. The comic book was adapted for the small screen with AMC's original apocalyptic drama, and two more spinoffs have since made their way to the network. Andrew Lincoln's exit from the original show last year came with the knowledge that Rick Grimes would be getting his own solo movie-- one with a full theatrical release. And now Walking Dead content chief Scott Gimple has teased the project's comic book movie inspiration: James Mangold's Logan.

Scott Gimple has had a long tenure working on The Walking Dead and its spinoffs, and that will continue with the highly anticipated Rock Grimes movie. Bringing that project to theaters seems like a bold choice, but he spoke to how it will be approached, and the inspiration taken from Logan. As he put it:

This is certainly a smart way to approach Rick’s story in the upcoming Walking Dead movie. The character was the protagonist of the series for nine season, so there is a ton of history there. But not every moviegoer will be up to date on the long-running show or the original comics (which you can catch up on here), which is why a Logan-esque approach is necessary.

Scott Gimple’s comments to THR make a great deal of sense, and shows that the folks behind The Walking Dead are being careful about how to approach the movie’s upcoming theatrical release. Balancing exposition and references to Rick’s past with his upcoming adventure with Anne aka Jade will be key to the film’s success. After all, the studio will want more than just diehard TWD fans heading to theaters if the movie is expected to make any money.

Related: Chandler Riggs Says He'd Love To Join The Walking Dead Movie

James Mangold's Logan was a refreshing departure for the superhero genre, specifically the long and somewhat convoluted X-Men franchise. Set in a dystopian future, the gritty character drama showed a Wolverine and Professor X as we'd never seen them before: vulnerable and isolated. The Oscar-nominated blockbuster largely ignored the previous movies, allowing for newcomers to be welcomed into the franchise, and feel caught up on the story. Smart money says Rick Grimes' movie does something similar when it arrives in theaters.

Of course, The Walking Dead movie will likely be a bit more connected to the canon of the series. Rick's story is long and full of pain, and that should influence how he approaches the new challenges that'll come his way. Rick is about to wake up in the zombie apocalypse for the second time, after a helicopter took him far away from Alexandria and his family.

Scott Gimple's comparison to Logan make the Rick-centric movie seem like it'll be the opposite of Netflix's Breaking Bad movie El Camino. That streaming drama was deeply connected to Jesse Pinkman's tenure on the show, and brought back countless characters from the Breaking Bad/Better Call Saul universe. It wasn't a movie that was meant for casual fans, but a love letter Breaking Bad that was truly meant for the fans.

While Logan featured the return of X-Men stars Hugh Jackman and Patrick Stewart (which would also be their last time as the characters), the story was wholly original. The two ultra powerful mutants had aged, with their respective abilities wreaking havoc as they attempted to survive in isolation in the desert. The various other characters weren't mentioned, with the X-Men becoming nothing more than a myth-- a comic book entity. It was a stark juxtaposition the franchise's typical ensemble films, and allowed the story to stand on its own. Although just how The Walking Dead movie will do this remains a mystery.

Then again, the upcoming Rick Grimes movie isn't expected to start a whole new timeline. The Walking Dead and its spinoffs all currently occupy the same space, albeit in different locations and periods in time. What's more, the project will directly follow-up on Rick's departure during Season 9, which was intimately connected with the interpersonal relationships of the series. He seemingly perished when he destroyed the bridge that connected the various communities, leaving behind his partner Michonne, daughter Judith, and unborn son RJ.

Luckily he didn't die, with Anne aka Jadis finding the protagonist washed up ashore. Her mysterious helicopter finally arrived, and the former Scavenger negotiated Rick's inclusion in the ride. The pair departed to places unknown, and could end up seemingly anywhere in the upcoming movie. Smart money says Rick won't be happy about his new fate, as he left behind so many loved ones and a series of communities that needed his guidance and protection.

I'm eager to see exactly how Rick's story is approached in the upcoming movie, and how the past and present are balanced. One possible way to cue in new audience members is through flashbacks, with other cast member able to reprise their roles and act opposite Andrew Lincoln. Chandler Riggs and Norman Reedus have both expressed their interest in coming back for the big screen, so the ball in the studio's court.

Regardless, the inspiration being drawn from Logan is a hopeful message to fans, who are hoping the movie lives up the hype when it finally hits theaters. Logan was universally praised, earning great reviews, a strong box office performance, and even an Oscar nomination. It looks like Scott Gimple and company are aiming high when it comes to Rick Grimes' untitled movie. And if that release is a success, smart money says more movies will be produced for either AMC theaters.

It's currently unclear when the Rick Grimes movie will hit theaters now, although the new season of The Walking Dead is airing Sundays on AMC. In the meantime, check out our 2019 release list to plan your next trip to the movies.

Warning! Spoilers below for The Walking Dead's latest episode, so be sure to watch before reading on.

With "What Comes After," The Walking Dead had the major challenge of wrapping up Rick Grimes' epic tale, but audiences weren't initially aware that Rick's story wasn't actually ending. In fact, his shocking helicopter ride is opening up The Walking Dead universe in a completely game-changing way, with all kinds of new projects in active development. We're talking past, present and future timelines and characters, too. Scott Gimple, who was promoted earlier this year as an overarching Dead-verse producer, said this:

As bonkers as it was to watch Rick actually survive everything that went down in the episode, it was even weirder to learn immediately afterward that Rick is being prepped for more stories within this ever-expanding world. Perhaps even more exciting is thinking about all of the other characters besides Rick that will draw focus for their own standalone projects.

The details are being worked out as far as how and when AMC will bring about its new movies plan, but David Madden, AMC Studios' President of Original Programming, did confirm that this won't just be a television venture. In his words:

While waiting to see exactly what's been cooking at the Walking Dead offices, let's break down all of the different expansion concepts and ideas that were brought up in AMC's exciting announcement, which was also revealed by Scott Gimple himself on Talking Dead.

Rick Grimes Movies: As stated, the first idea that will apparently come to fruition when launching the inflated Dead-verse is a series of full-length movies that will follow Rick in the weeks, months, and possibly years after he was saved by Jadis. No big details were revealed, of course, but it looks like Andrew Lincoln is perfectly fine with reprising his iconic role so long as he's not having to leave his UK home for the months needed to bring the TV seasons to life.

Interestingly, it doesn't sound like they're going theatrical with these features, and will instead possibly opt for release through AMC's digital subscription service.

Additional Movies, Series and Specials: Perhaps understandably, Andrew Lincoln's Rick won't be the only Walking Dead character who gets to command a larger piece of the narrative puzzle through standalone films and the like. It turns out AMC is planning on setting up other film and series projects that aren't necessarily tied to Rick Grimes' story, along with one-off specials.

Could this be where Jeffrey Dean Morgan gets to show off even more skills for a movie or miniseries based on his villain's origin-tale comic Here's Negan?

Former Characters Will Be Used: The plan to make movies based on Rick is a natural one, since he was the show's main character for nine seasons, But The Walking Dead has had a ton of now-dead characters that were absolutely deserving of their own projects.

It's possible audiences could be watching projects based on Abraham's group before they crossed paths with Team Family, Alexandria's formation under the to-be-exiled Davison, or perhaps adaptations of Robert Kirkman and Jay Bonansinga's tie-in novels about The Governor. (Let's get David Morrissey back, pronto!) I can't say I'm optimistic that Steven Yeun will be interested in reprising the role of Glenn, though.

New Characters Will Be Used: Just as The Walking Dead has plenty of former characters to use as narrative fodder, the comic book series features tons of past and future characters that the TV show hasn't directly adapted yet. The AMC series did introduce Magna's crew in that wild time jump at the end of "What Comes After," and we know we're getting the Whisperers soon.

But there's also the massive Commonwealth location (that is possibly where Georgie is from, and where Rick is headed) that is full of new characters to use. Plus, it might be sweet to get a standalone special about characters like Juanita "Princess" Sanchez before they are officially introduced to the flagship series.

Other Parts of the World Will Show Up: For years, fans have been asking about seeing The Walking Dead take its post-apocalyptic stories to different locations around the world to see what the global situation is like. Scott Gimple has been positive, if vague, about it it in the past, and Fear the Walking Dead did at least take characters south of the border. But Gimple has now confirmed that the new content will indeed take characters around the world.

I think this could be how fans get to see an adaptation of the only Walking Dead comic that wasn't written by Robert Kirkman, The Walking Dead: The Alien, by Brian K. Vaughan and Marcos Martin. That one-shot took place in Spain and centered on Rick Grimes' brother, so it would be crazy-exciting to see it in live-action.

Some Stories Will Be Connected, But Not All of Them: With Lennie James' Morgan, The Walking Dead made its first official crossover with Fear the Walking Dead, and fans can expect to see several of the future spinoff projects also being tethered back to home base.

The Rick-focused movies will obviously have similar through-lines to the TV series', but not everything will be meant to come together in narrative harmony. The aforementioned Alien comic, for instance, had no rhyme or reason to connect back to the major narrative, and Scott Gimple and his creative teams will presumably create similar one-off stories for certain characters and situations.

For now, The Walking Dead franchise is merely limited to just the TV series, comics, Fear spinoff, video games, board games, toys and more. Expect to see an even more wallet-gouging push on merchandising in the coming years, too. But don't forget to keep tuning into the show on AMC every Sunday night at 9:00 p.m. Of course, our fall TV premiere schedule has all your viewing needs that don't necessarily feature people getting their faces bitten off.

SPOILER WARNING: The following contains major spoilers for the latest episode of The Walking Dead. You've been warned!

Andrew Lincoln served as the central protagonist on The Walking Dead for about eight years, but tonight that tenure came to an end. Though the character didn't die, he was shown being taken on a helicopter to an unknown location, and it's been promised that his time on the show is done. That being said, it seems that Lincoln isn't totally done with Rick Grimes as a character, as Executive Producer Scott Gimple has confirmed his part in a series of upcoming TV movies:

When Rick Grimes didn't die and get a permanent conclusion, there was immediate speculation about where the character would appear next -- and Scott Gimple hasn't wasted any time answering that question. Discussing the new episode with EW, Gimple confirmed that the Walking Dead movies that were rumored earlier this year are in serious development and have secured their lead.

It seems that the choices for Rick Grimes' future were made because these Walking Dead movies are being developed simultaneously with the continuing show. Scott Gimple confirmed that the first of the feature-length tales will pick up right where the episode left the protagonist, and confirmed that Jadis, played by Pollyanna McIntosh, will be along for the ride -- what with her being in the helicopter and all. Said Gimple,

So if you were expecting the possibility of seeing Rick Grimes take on a horde of the undead at your local multiplex any time soon, it seems like you might not want to hold your breath. While what's being designed will apparently have all the frills of a big screen blockbuster, it sounds like its intended medium will be the small screen.

In the latest Walking Dead episode, titled "What Comes After," hints multiple times at Rick Grimes' death, but winds up having him narrowly survive an explosion. In a big redemption move, Jadis makes a deal that sees her join Rick in a helicopter en route to a community of surviving humans. While we don't really know exactly where it is that they are heading at the moment, there is plenty of material based on which we can speculate. For example, could this possibly be the same place where Maggie (Lauren Cohan) went to after her conversation with Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) a few weeks back.

As for what to expect from the movies that will see Rick's story continue, there is actually some epic stuff in the works. As you might be able to tell from the usage of plural nouns in Scott Gimple's quotes, there isn't just a plan for one Walking Dead movie, but instead a full trilogy. The filmmaker adds that not everything will strictly revolve around the former small town sheriff's deputy, but that it will be the primary starting place. Gimple explained,

Scott Gimple added that there is already a timeline in place for these projects as well. While The Walking Dead will continue its ninth season going into 2019, the producer/former showrunner is planning to have Andrew Lincoln back to work at the same time. As described, the features are going to take a while to make, and we probably won't see the finished product until 2020, but the wheels are definitely in motion:

What do you make of these developments? Do you think it's a cop out that Rick Grimes is still alive after so much build up? Do you think it's a good idea to continue his story in feature form? Are you bummed that it doesn't sound like these projects are going to get theatrical releases? Do you have any early guesses as to what we could possibly see in a full trilogy of made-for-TV movies? We want to hear what you have to say, so leave all of your thoughts, opinions and questions in the comments section below, and stay tuned for more of our continuing Walking Dead coverage here on CinemaBlend.

Death isn't a foreign concept to The Walking Dead's character ensemble, for obvious reasons, but Season 9 will be taking away Rick Grimes, the character that's served as our introduction and baseline for the entire franchise. Rick's death may not be a certainty just yet, but emotions are still guaranteed to run high for Andrew Lincoln's final episodes. One way to ramp up the feels is to bring Rick closer than ever to his surviving loved ones, and The Walking Dead will indeed show a marked evolution in his relationship with Michonne in the wake of the time jump. Here's how Scott Gimple put it:

Understandably, the love and attraction that Rick and Michonne have for each other advanced along with everything else in Alexandria, Hilltop and the other communities. It's presumed no other major villains will have risen up in Negan's place during during the year and a half that viewers won't get to witness, so any problems that cropped up were likely on a small scale, and didn't require the entirety of their waking lives. Therefore, the couple could devote a lot more attention to lovey-lovey time. And Judith is now old enough to walk in on them in the throes of said lovey-lovey time.

Neither Rick nor Michonne will be completely over Carl's death, but their grieving will likely be minimal, and they'll have gotten more time to raise Judith as the group regained some social stability. Sure, parenting is hard, but in most cases, it also inspires a sense of adoration and compassion that nothing else can touch, so that will also play into Rick and Michonne's tighter-knit courtship. (Plus, it's gotta help him not think about Judith being Shane and Lori's kid, right?)

Scott Gimple, who currently reigns as the Walking Dead franchise's chief content officer, also told TVLine that Andrew Lincoln and Danai Gurira's performances play a big part in making the characters feel so close.

Danai Gurira definitely faced some jarring days during production on Season 9 (and Season 8 and...all of them, really). And while we don't know for certain if she was talking about one of Andrew Lincoln's last scenes as Rick, the actress did recently say that her most challenging time as a Walking Dead star happened while filming an emotionally potent scene for the upcoming season. Or, more precisely, while not filming, as Gurira had to stay in a complex headspace longer than expected when nasty weather kept delaying the crew from shooting a notably difficult sequence.

But before we get to Rick being a goner, let's remember to celebrate the time he has left, not only with Michonne, but with the rest of Team Family. Even the reformed Saviors, I guess. The Walking Dead Season 9 will kick off on AMC on Sunday, October 7, at 9:00 p.m. ET. While waiting to see how things go down, keep tabs on our fall TV premiere schedule for everything else that's hitting primetime and beyond in the coming months.

When The Walking Dead left off, Maggie and Rick's relationship had hit a bit of a bump. After all, he had allowed her husband's murderer, Negan, to continue drawing breath. Suffice it to say, there is room for ample tension between them. Having been denied her preferred brand of justice by Rick, will Maggie really be revving up for revenge against him in Season 9? The Walking Dead's chief content officer and former showrunner Scott Gimple has weighed in, saying:

There you have it! With so much going on in between Season 8 and Season 9 thanks to that time jump, it is understandable that Maggie may have other things occupying her mind besides her and Rick's feud. With 18 months having passed in between the two installments, Maggie has had hers and Glenn's baby, and that's bound to take up a lot of her time and energy. While making it right may not be driving her in Season 9 as Scott Gimple told TVLine, a desire to do so is still present within her.

With Maggie finally having had her baby in Season 9, the show will also be able to explore her life as a mother, and as you probably suspected, it has had an impact. It is thanks in part to her having become a mother that Maggie's quest for revenge may be far from over. Giving fans a preview of how being a mother to hers and Glenn's baby has impacted Maggie's feelings, Scott Gimple says:

All of which makes perfect sense. Having become a mother, she is focused on her child. She also knows that her baby's father is missing and why. So, it would make sense that their child would play a large role in how she feels regarding Glenn's killer. After all, Negan is still alive, and Glenn is dead, having never met his and Maggie's baby. And Rick allowed Negan to live. Can he and Maggie come to an understanding before he exits The Walking Dead?

And how much light will the Season 9 premiere shed on that possibility? The episode will definitely be long enough to fit in some scenes between Rick and Maggie. As many fans know, Season 9 will be the season fans bid farewell to Maggie and Rick. Maggie, in an open-ended way, and Rick, for what is potentially forever. Regardless of how their respective time on the series ends up, time is running out for them to reconcile Rick allowing Glenn's killer to live. Fans will have to tune in to see if it can happen.

It may feel like the wait for the premiere of The Walking Dead Season 9 is creeping along rather slowly, but you can rest assured it is getting closer. The premiere is now less than a month away. And there is something to be said for savoring the time that is left. Find out how things go down between Rick and Maggie when The Walking Dead returns this fall, along with a ton of other shows. Season 9 premieres Sunday, October 7 at 9 p.m. ET on AMC.

The Walking Dead has accumulated a large and passionate fanbas, but it definitely has not been immune to criticism from the folks who usually love the show. Some factions have been so upset with plot twists that they break out the petitions to reverse the decisions, ranging from Beth's tragic death to Andrew Lincoln's upcoming departure. Former showrunner Scott Gimple has been on the receiving end of a lot of criticism during his time in the top job, with some fans even campaigning for him to get fired after that heartbreaking Carl twist in Season 8. According to Gimple, however, the criticism doesn't bother him:

No popular TV show exists in a vacuum anymore thanks to social media, and The Walking Dead as well as its fans are active on Twitter. Judging by his previous comments to USA Today, Scott Gimple is well aware of what fans have had to say about the show's direction over the years. While he and the show do get praise, they also get a lot of criticism, and online criticism is often more impassioned than online praise. As somebody who had fans petitioning for him to get fired after killing off Carl in a massive departure from the comics, Gimple could have been bitter about the criticism. Instead, he's cool with it as long as they watch and their opinions are informed.

Scott Gimple didn't get sacked by AMC due to the fan reactions in Season 8; in fact, he got a big promotion. When news broke that The Walking Dead had been renewed for a ninth season, it was announced that Gimple would take over the role of chief content officer of the entire Walking Dead franchise, which means he'll have a hand in Fear the Walking Dead as well as The Walking Dead, marketing, video games, merchandise, and more. Replacing him as showrunner is Angela Kang, who has been a part of the show as a writer and executive producer since way back in 2011.

Given the looming time jump, the major shift in Negan's position, the potential introduction of the Whisperers, and the switch in main character moving forward, Angela Kang may have a more or less blank canvas for the zombie apocalypse in Season 9 and beyond. We'll have to wait and see. The Walking Dead has switched showrunners a number of times already over the years, and not all of the transitions have been clean. Still, maybe the fans who were upset with Scott Gimple in Season 8 will enjoy any changes that come with Kang in charge. Even if the criticism didn't bother Gimple, perhaps he'll enjoy not being the target of it as much.

Only time will tell. The Walking Dead won't return until the fall, although Fear the Walking Dead will return in August. You can find its midseason premiere date along with plenty of other important dates on our summer TV premiere guide. Be sure to check back with CinemaBlend for the latest in zombie apocalypse news. Don't forget to check out our picks for most awesome theories about Rick's final episodes.

Scott Gimple sat atop The Walking Dead as showrunner throughout some of the series' most controversial deviations from the comics. While he's owned the decisions he's made, Gimple recently admitted he initially wanted to be super faithful to the source material, going on to say that had it not been for creator Robert Kirkman, he probably would have given fans a more direct adaptation of the comics:

Initially believing that giving fans a precise page-to-screen adaptation would be the goal, Scott Gimple realized that by doing a direct adaptation of The Walking Dead comics for TV, viewers familiar with the source material would lose some of the experience that non-reader fans may have going into the show. Gimple and Kirkman didn't want that, so they started changing things around to keep book's fans on their toes. The tactic certainly works in that sense, as the show's major twists and turns have certainly kept both readers and fans constantly guessing what will happen next.

But that's saying nothing of how both sets of fans have reacted. To understate things, several of Scott Gimple's creative decisions for The Walking Dead have been met with mixed responses from audiences. This likely plays a part in why he told the crowds at the AMC panel for From Book To Screen (via Business Insider) that it can be scary to take major detours from the Walking Dead source material. Fans were largely fine with the show killing off Andrea (which happened before Gimple took over as showrunner) well before her time was up in the comics, since she was already so different from the original iteration. On the flip side, some fans were practically calling for Gimple's head when The Walking Dead killed off Carl Grimes, who remains alive in the comics.

Scott Gimple, who is now the CCO for all things Walking Dead-related, explained the show makes such decisions to pay homage to the source material while trying to hit the same story beats in updated ways. And it's not just about being different for the sake of being different. In his words:

Scott Gimple also added that there are things that The Walking Dead comics can do that just don't translate to television. A character can be absent from the comics for 17 issues and then re-appear out of the blue, with little consequence to the reader; but if the show were to attempt the same thing, it's weirder. (Where you at, Heath?) Hilariously enough, Gimple's comment comes just on the heels of former star Jon Bernthal being confirmed to appear in Season 9. Gimple's point still stands regardless, of course, as it's not like anyone can deny the weirdness inherent to Shane returning to TWD in any capacity.

The Walking Dead will return to AMC for Season 9 sometime this fall. Those looking for television shows to watch in the meantime, be sure to visit our summer premiere guide.

Since it premiered in 2010, The Walking Dead has consistently stood out as one of the most popular shows on television. Even when the ratings have dipped, it has remained one of TV's most prestigious and widely-recognized dramas. That said, some fans continue to wonder if the folks behind the series would ever scale things up to a full-blown feature film, and apparently, that is something that hasn't been entirely ruled out. The Walking Dead head honcho Scott Gimple addressed the possibility of a film in a recent interview, saying:

While that's not really confirmation of anything (Scott Gimple has to remain tight-lipped about many of these topics), it is worth noting that he does not explicitly rule out the chance of a movie set in the world of The Walking Dead. With so many different forms of content being created in that world as its popularity persists, it stands out as one of the many "possibilities" that the people working on the series seem willing to explore if it continues to expand and evolve. The series has technically already aired on the big screen before, but this seems like a suggestion that it could go one step further for a full-fledged feature adaptation of the undead universe.

It's also worth mentioning that this does not seem entirely outlandish when we consider how much other content The Walking Dead has produced aside from the TV series. The franchise started in comic book form with the books written by Robert Kirkman, and its popularity has also led to the creation of some incredibly well-received video games and consumer products. The TV avenue of The Walking Dead may remain the cornerstone of the brand, but it's far from the only way to tell a story in this particular world.

That's not to say that television is not already working in its own cinematic way for The Walking Dead. In fact, elsewhere in his interview with Vulture, Scott Gimple addressed the future of The Walking Dead and likened the development of Season 9 to that of "a 33-hour movie." A film is not off of the table, but the conclusion of the "All Out War" arc and the tease of the giant herd seen in the Season 8 finale also show that The Walking Dead can still accomplish quite a bit on the small screen.

CinemaBlend will bring you more information related to the world of The Walking Dead as new details on the TV series (as well as any other medium that the story seeps into) becomes available us. Until then, make sure to keep a close eye on CinemaBlend's full 2018 movie premiere schedule so you can keep yourself up-to-date on all of the big movies headed to the silver screen this year!

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Spoiler warning for anyone who hasn't yet watched The Walking Dead's Season 8 finale, titled "Wrath."

For all that the latest The Walking Dead finale wrapped up its various plot threads, such as the All Out war's ending and Dwight's exile, several future storylines were only hinted at, from Negan's recovery process to Maggie's newly enraged sense of vengeance. Perhaps the most intriguing tease was that super-massive herd of walkers, which Rick noted was larger than any they'd seen before. Comic fans immediately latched onto the idea that this was the show's first true reference to the source material's big villains, The Whisperers, but here's what executive producer and finale director Greg Nicotero said about that.

For those who are unfamiliar, The Whisperers are the deadly group that showed up following the comic book's post-War time jump. Their main gimmick involves its members wearing walker skins as if they are full-bodied costumes, making them blend into big herds like this, and allowing them to travel largely undetected. "Wrath" really only directly referred to the giant zombie pack during that one scene, and while we're taking Greg Nicotero's words to EW at face value, isn't it too peculiar a thing for that herd to show up merely as a vague warning to Rick's crew that in-fighting is bad? Especially considering every giant walker swarm has stood for that same thing in the past, from the Alexandria breach to Negan and Gabriel's gut-covered escape.

Not that we'd expect Greg Nicotero to up and spoil any major Season 9 villain points already, but we can't help but feel like there's something more to this. If the TV show does indeed use The Whisperers in live-action -- which isn't guaranteed, but also isn't unlikely -- then it's hard to believe that they would co-exist in a world with this giant herd without being a part of it. Those are just bad odds.

No longer the showrunner for The Walking Dead, Scott Gimple will still oversee the entire franchise, and he had a similar and much less wordy explanation for what the herd meant. But somehow, his answer to EW still comes across as slightly more optimistic for fans hoping to see those wild villains. When asked if the herd was intentionally hinting at the Whisperers, Gimple said this:

Interestingly, The Walking Dead has featured several moments in past episodes that have seemingly nodded to the Whisperers' existence. From that one Savior bringing up heads on spikes to Ezekiel to those walkers with the skin ripped from their bodies, the foundation for Whisperer havoc has been lightly spread about, and the finale may have also thrown in another visual clue or two. Remember those posts in the field where the War's final "battle" took place?

Surely, those could just be normal fence stakes where the fence itself had long been removed. Or, those posts could refer to how the Comic Whisperers mark their territory to keep outsiders and intruders away. The fact that there are other fences and things in the field-filled setting makes this guess a bit more flimsy, but it feels absolutely intentional for those particular lone posts above to be seen in the exact same shot with the walker herd in the background. I'd bet a closet full of snappy walker-skin blazers that we'll see the Whisperers in the first half of Season 9.

The Walking Dead Season 8 is no more, and Season 9 won't be around until the fall season. So in the meantime, check out Fear the Walking Dead Season 4 and its new characters on AMC every Sunday night at 9:00 p.m. ET. And then head to our midseason premiere schedule and our summer premiere schedule to see all the new and returning shows on the way.

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For those who haven't yet watched The Walking Dead's season finale, there are some big spoilers below.

Of all the Walking Dead characters who rocked the boat in Season 8, Eugene was the one doing it in the most loquacious, and arguably infuriating, manner. From within the Sanctuary's walls, he seemed fully entrenched within Negan's influence, and the penultimate episode made Eugene look ready to destroy Rosita, Daryl, and the rest of his former friends. Only, he ended up doing something noble for once by sabotaging the bullets made for the Saviors' guns, turning him into a hero of sorts. Scott Gimple explained when that plot was conceived by the writers, and why it happened like that.

Scott Gimple offered up this explanation for Eugene's big twist while taking part in his last episode of Talking Dead as The Walking Dead's showrunner (assumedly), and it's about as sensible a reasoning as we could hope for. Eugene is a smart dude, regardless of the moral code tied to his actions, so what he did wasn't entirely done in an effort to "take down the enemy," as it were, since Eugene will forever put himself as his own #1 priority.

But instead of letting his self-survival instincts dwarf his compassion and previous commitments to Abraham and Rosita (and others), Eugene employed his most virtuous con job yet by turning the War's final big battle into a short and lopsided victory for Team Family. Sucks that he waited so long to do it, since he could have saved a lot of lives by just defying the villainous tyrant to begin with. But at least it got done.

On Talking Dead, Josh McDermitt himself also had a few words to say about Eugene's big shocker, and he enforced the idea that Eugene's motivation to botch Negan's mission wasn't some big plan he'd been crafting. But rather, it was just the less damning side of a coin with no easy options. In McDermitt's words:

In the end, even Eugene's bravest action really only happened because he was afraid of being blown to smithereens under the command of a dude he didn't really agree with. But it was still a brave action, and one that took quite a bit of technical know-how and dumb luck, since it was assumed that no one would try and fire one of those altered bullets ahead of time.

Eugene probably had to put some ice on his jaw right after Rosita clocked him, but we're interested to see where his story will go next for Season 9, which will hit AMC at some point this fall. Until then, be sure and watch Fear the Walking Dead Season 4 every Sunday night at 9:00 p.m. ET. Check out what we learned from star Maggie Grace, and then head to our midseason premiere schedule and our summer premiere schedule to see what'll be hitting primetime soon.

There are few TV shows in history quite as popular as AMC's The Walking Dead. Despite being in the midst of it eighth season on the network, the apocalyptic drama still rakes in massive numbers every week. It's spinoff Fear The Walking Dead has finally hit its stride as well, with an impending crossover event drumming up extra excitement. Everyone who works on TWD hasn't been shy about their intentions to keep the franchise running indefinitely, and now former showrunner and chief content officer Scott M. Gimple is teasing that potential spinoffs are eventually coming out way. He said,

It looks like the zombie apocalypse isn't going anywhere, as there will be more TV content being developed for The Walking Dead franchise. While they'll also continue to produce web series, it sounds like big things are coming to the wildly popular brand.

Scott M. Gimple's comments to THR shouldn't come as a total surprise. Given the popularity of The Walking Dead shows, there is a seemingly never ending supply of content to mine from. We've only seen the zombie apocalypse from two very specific viewpoints: Rick Grimes and Madison Clarke. This has taken us primarily to Atlanta and California, although both shows have migrated to various other locations during their tenure on the air.

Because of this, we still have no concept of how the rest of the country, and more importantly, the world dealt with the end of the world. Did any government agencies or communities manage to monitor the situation and communicate? Or did every society fall into chaos once the lights turned off and the dead walked the Earth? There are plenty of stories and perspectives to tell, leaving the possibilities open. And with crossovers now officially on the table, it could make way for some particularly ambitious storytelling.

The Walking Dead seems to be moving full steam ahead as a comprehensive brand, which is actually pretty surprising. Usually shows tend to flicker out at around the point of its eighth season, leading to a decline in quality. There has been some drop off with the fandom in recent years, but certain character deaths have still been shown to break the internet. Since Robert Kirkman is continuing to release new installments of the comic books, there is also ample ground work to craft episodes with.

The Walking Dead airs Sundays on AMC, and Fear The Walking Dead will return for Season 4 on Sunday, April 15. In the meantime, check out our midseason premiere list to plan your next binge watch. Additionally, check our Amazon premiere list and superhero premiere list to make sure you don't miss a single episode.

Spoilers below for The Walking Dead's midseason premiere, so be sure to watch before reading on.

The Walking Dead delivered an emotional bear of an episode with its midseason premiere, which featured not only the heartbreaking death of O.G. survivor Carl Grimes, but also that of the relatively likable Savior Gavin. The biggest head-scratcher of the episode, however, came in the final moments, as a paled and drained Rick sat beneath the tree of stained glass, seemingly bleeding to death from a stomach/side wound. What's actually happening there? Let's see what we can figure out.

Is Rick Actually Dying?

Great news for Rick's central fanbase among the Walking Dead viewership: he almost definitely isn't going to die...in Season 8...because of the wounds he's suffering in that shot. Anything outside of that specific set-up is definitely possible, of course, and it's even within the realm of reason that Rick could face these injuries right at the end of the season's narrative timeline, only to die from them early on in Season 9. Because yes, Rick probably will die on the TV show, just like he's going to die in the comic book before it wraps. It just probably isn't going to happen yet.

Such confidence isn't blind, mind you. Showrunner Scott Gimple and star Andrew Lincoln are keeping vaguely mum about what that WTF moment means for the future, but comic scribe Robert Kirkman told THR something a little more concrete and optimistic about how much we should be worried for Rick's death.

So while no one should expect to see Rick Grimes still serving as the definitive community leader in Season 15, Walking Dead fans can breathe a little easier about Rick's final moments not going down beneath such a uniquely decorated tree. (I mean, it's better than thinking he died under a dumpster.) In any case, that just eliminates one possible outcome.

So What's Actually Happening Then?

I'm sure everyone considers that the $64,000 question now, since the moment arrived almost completely out of the blue. (Or the red, as it were.) Rick's bloodshot eyes have been teased ever since the season premiere, to be sure, as well as him uttering Saddiq's quasi-mantra about letting mercy prevail over his wrath. But it wasn't clear at the time that a big bloody wound was responsible for Rick being all sweat-soaked and weak. So how does that factor into things?

Perhaps the easiest assumption to make here is that Rick is suffering from a wound sustained during the All Out War, and it could very well have taken place during the War's final conflict. This dazed and bewildered Rick could have found himself sitting against that tree after taking a victory lap around the nearby area to celebrate, only to realize he didn't have enough blood left in his body for victory laps. Here's how Scott Gimple explained it to THR.

If Rick is mumbling about his mercy beating his wrath out, then it's possible he's less physically fractured and more mentally baffled by his predicament. As comic book fans know, the source material's All Out War ended on a shocking face-to-face confrontation between Rick and Negan, and this could be the aftermath of that. Of course, if the show does stick to the comics fairly faithfully, this ending moment will probably happen after the last big community-wide battle, and not long before Rick and Negan's big moment.

While I don't want to get too heavy into the story spoilers here, I will say that in the final battle, Comic Rick experienced a moment that similarly appeared to be sending him to his maker; to the point where Negan also wrongfully assumed the former sheriff was on his deathbed. It was a key turning point that led to one of the biggest dramatic shifts of the comic series, though TV fans probably won't get to see things play out in quite the same way, especially if the show doesn't port the time jump element into live-action. But just have faith that if we're seeing Rick at his weakest point right now, we're likely also going to see him become stronger than ever in the same time-frame. And the strength of his mercy shall indeed prevail...we hope.

Will we find out what happened to Rick in next week's episode? Probably not, since it took nine episodes to get to answers behind the flash-forwards. But they're coming, so keep tuning into The Walking Dead every Sunday night on AMC at 9:00 p.m. ET to keep looking for clues. Check out why we think we'll see Carl again in Season 8, as well as what Negan will be up to in the next episode. Then head to our midseason premiere schedule to see when all the other new and returning shows will be hitting primetime.

During the first half of its eighth season, The Walking Dead piled up enough bodies (both humans and walkers) to eclipse the sun, with many of those deaths befalling the nameless Saviors and Kingdom-ites populating background shots. But now we're set for a midseason premiere in which the seemingly unkillable Carl Grimes will be killed off, and fans are worried about a similar fate for Maggie. Lauren Cohan's contract expires this season, and she has yet to sign on for more. Current showrunner Scott Gimple seems optimistic, though, offering this latest update on the situation.

Note that Scott Gimple's optimism does not come across as overwhelming when seen in print like that. It's possible his audible tone was much happier and joyful when he spoke with TVLine about the matter, and that he had birthday party noisemakers going at the time, but probably not. Having headed up The Walking Dead behind the scenes for this many years, Gimple is used to both the troublesome process of contract negotiations, as well as unyielding fan stress over characters potentially exiting the show. So he knows it's best just to play it down the middle until something can be confirmed.

We'll gladly take Gimple at his word here, too, since we're anxious for AMC and the show's producers to work with Lauren Cohan on locking down a Season 9 contract extension that keeps her beloved character at the newly vengeful head of the Hilltop Colony. After all, Maggie is nearly as O.G. as Rick, Daryl, Morgan and Carol are at this point, and she deserves a nice moment of peace and quiet after the hell that she's been through since finding out she's pregnant. Scratch that; she has earned far more than one peaceful moment.

While Lauren Cohan's contract bartering doesn't have any specific ties to the Maggie character, some awkward and unfortunate circumstances would need to be written in if Cohan doesn't return. Such as the aforementioned pregnancy, which has been an ongoing plot point for multiple seasons now, with Maggie still only in the first trimester, given how stretched-out the narrative timeline has been. Considering Lori died in childbirth, the show likely wouldn't go that route again, so Cohan's exit could very well mean Maggie and Glenn's baby not coming to term. Which would be extremely depressing, if not exactly out of the ordinary for this show.

No one should have any particular worries about watching Lauren Cohan exiting The Walking Dead just yet, as she'll be back on AMC for the midseason premiere on Sunday, February 25, at 9:00 p.m. ET. (Check out what we thought about it.) And to see when all the non-zombie shows are hitting the small screen soon, head to our midseason premiere schedule.

*Spoilers below for anyone who hasn't watched The Walking Dead's midseason finale. *

Whenever a TV show makes it clear that a major character is going to be killed off, it obviously changes up the situation for all involved. The Walking Dead is taking on an extreme version of that scenario by giving Carl Grimes an expiration date, which throws a wrench not only into the show's narrative, but also into the adaptation process, since Carl's story heads in many significant directions in the comics after the All Out War has finished. Here's what showrunner Scott Gimple had to say about adapting storylines without Carl around.

There are undoubtedly fans that will read that and shake their head mournfully, knowing that there are certain situations that just wouldn't work right with any other characters unless some drastic alterations are made. Which almost definitely means that drastic alterations are going to be made for different plot points in the future. So now it's just a waiting game to see what happens next.

Negan and Carl's relationship, if that's what it can be called, was not only highly interesting for comic readers, but it also changed each character's perceptions in different ways. Fans were stoked to see how that would play out between Chandler Riggs' Carl and Jeffrey Dean Morgan's Negan, but the TV show only pit them together for a single (effective) episode last year. We're not counting their conversation in the midseason finale, either.

In the case of the Negan story, as well as many of Carl's other narrative arcs, the character's youth and burgeoning maturity are such major aspects, so unless an abundance of those central dynamics are completely changed, the only other youthful character for The Walking Dead to use is Enid. That substitution could create some interesting switch-ups, especially when it comes to Carl's personal and romantic life, but Enid has no comic history and isn't all that interesting a live-action character. Steps have been made to boost her input, but she's currently being held by the Oceanside people, assumedly, so she might not even survive long enough to become the new Carl.

Speaking with EW, Scott Gimple was asked about how the show will still play with the concept of legacy, since Carl was presumably meant to follow in Rick's footsteps for a leadership role. Here's what the showrunner said.

That presents its own set of difficulties, really. Since Robert Kirkman's Walking Dead comics are still going strong, we're not yet at a point where Carl has become a bonafide team captain, but Comic Rick is certainly on the downhill slide, given his multiple injuries and setbacks. But even if Carl takes over in the very next issue (which he won't), the TV show is still a couple of years away from completely catching up with the source material, so is Gimple hinting that the TV show could further mess with the timeline in order to introduce later comic elements? I mean, we've already met Siddiq, and we may have already witnessed some Whisperer handiwork, so the AMC hit might not need a time jump in order to keep its story fresh.

Carl will still be around for a very temporary time when The Walking Dead returns to AMC for the back half of Season 8, so maybe we'll see a hint of how the changes will play out in the future. Find out on Sunday, February 25, at 9:00 p.m. ET. To see what other new and returning shows are on the way in the near future, head to our fall TV premiere schedule and our 2018 midseason premiere schedule.

*Major spoilers below for The Walking Dead's Season 8 premiere. *

To open Season 8, The Walking Dead's highly anticipated premiere put into motion a multi-layered plan that Rick crafted in order to take down Negan and the Saviors once and for all. But fans were undoubtedly scratching their heads whenever Team Family had all the major villains in the crosshairs, with no protagonists making the effort to immediately put bullets in them. And according to showrunner Scott Gimple, there's a very good reason for Rick purposefully avoiding killing Negan in this first big attack.

Scott Gimple's words to THR seem to echo thoughts that we had as the season premiere aired, as far as what Rick's overarching goals are with his big plan. Having already gone to war with The Governor, not to mention all of the other larger-scale scrapes that he's gotten into with other groups, Rick knows that inciting massive violent acts is not the best way to keep the majority of his people alive. And there would be no bigger inciting moment for this war than Rick stopping by and blowing Negan's head off his shoulders without at least mentioning a more peaceful outcome for the different groups' members.

Now, it's not like Rick was interested in a completely bloodless revolution, as Team Family indeed took out quite a few of the Saviors' lookouts in order to bring the plan to life. And it couldn't have been easy for Rick to hear that one assface making threats about Carl and bringing up how Rick begged and cried in the past. As it often goes in The Walking Dead universe, though, the few are sometimes sacrificed to save the many. But in this case, the sacrificed few necessarily did not include Negan, for his murder would have likely just caused all of his underlings to immediately try and kill everyone from Alexandria, Hilltop, and The Kingdom. (Assuming Rick's crew wouldn't have just mowed them all down, of course.)

Let's not forget for all that Negan is a monster and a murderer, he doesn't actually wish for the deaths of everyone outside the Saviors' ranks. If all those other people were dead, then he couldn't take advantage of the unfair deal he's made with all the communities to provide The Sanctuary with food and supplies. It's quite a precarious position to be in for a post-apocalyptic villain, but before now, he's never had much reason to worry about any of those communities suddenly deciding to fight back.

Negan definitely doesn't know that Rick wants to keep him alive, since he likely viewed that Sanctuary-razing attack as one meant to end in his death. Hell, even Rick almost doubled back and went against his own intentions when he kept shooting at Negan crawling through the wreckage, and he only stopped when Father Gabriel reminded Rick that this plan was about more than just him. In that moment, and presumably more in the future, his mercy prevailed over his wrath. But everybody has a breaking point, right?

With lots more to come from the All Out War, The Walking Dead airs Sunday nights on AMC at 9:00 p.m. ET. Find out how to see a little more from the premiere that didn't show up on TV, and then check out all the premiere's funniest moments, some insight into Old Rick's weird flash-forwards, and how the show set itself up to survive without Rick leading everything. And then head to our fall TV premiere schedule to see what else is coming to primetime soon.

Spoilers ahead for The Walking Dead comics.

It's October, which means only one thing for hardcore Walking Dead fans: a series premiere. AMC's massively popular apocalyptic drama is gearing up for its whopping eighth season on the network, as it continues to adapt and draw inspiration from Robert Kirkman's graphic novels of the same name. But the TV show also has made plenty of changes, one of the biggest of which was killing off Andrea back in Season 3. The character has a long life in the comics, and her recent death shocked the fans. Although now it looks like TWD will adapt her death with another character. Showrunner Scott Gimple recently revealed their plans to adapt the infamous comic scene, saying:

It looks like no one is safe on The Walking Dead, as Andrea's shocking death will likely occur with another character on the show. Scott Gimple's comments to Comic Book are sure to strike fear into many Walking Dead fans, especially all those Rick and Michonne shippers.

In the comics, Andrea lives for many years, eventually marrying Rick and becoming a mother figure to Carl. In one of the most recent issues, she helps save Eugene's life when he's surrounded by walkers. But after they get to safety, she notices a small bite on her neck, responding with an appropriate "Oh, Shit". The virus eventually killed her, and Rick was forced to put down a reanimated Andrea after being unable to pull the trigger before she became a zombie.

Andrea's death was shocking because it came out of seemingly nowhere, and she had a few hours to slowly whither away and say her goodbyes. Now the question is, who is it going to be on the TV show?

The most obvious choice would be Michonne, who has largely filled in for the role of Andrea in The Walking Dead TV series. Michonne is probably in the top 3 most popular characters, so her sudden death would be a major heartbreak. Rick has already seen Lori and Jesse die, and Michonne might be the final straw in his sanity. But with characters like Eugene changing a bit from the comics, there's really no telling what direction the series will go. And even if the timeline is followed, we wouldn't have to worry about Michonne's death for years.

The Walking Dead will return for Season 8 on October 22nd. In the meantime, check out our fall premiere list to plan your next binge watch.

As Walking Dead fans are well aware, characters come and go with frequency within the post-apocalypse, but more often than not, it's certain death that keeps folks from returning. That didn't appear to be the case with Corey Hawkins' Heath, though, since that character basically disappeared with only a key card hinting at his situation. (Or not.) Viewers have been wondering if the comic book fan favorite hero would be back on TV for Season 8, and showrunner Scott Gimple has an answer. Though it's not the most pleasing one.

At face value, there's not much of a mystery behind what Scott Gimple told EW, but it's still so hard to know what the hell that even means. Heath's non-death obviously means he could return, and the showrunner seems confident that it'll happen one day, but there's not much of a shot that it'll happen soon. It would be fair to assume that Gimple and Corey Hawkins have discussed the situation, with the actor presumably taking kindly to a reappearance in the future as he has in the past. But for whatever reason, it will apparently happen beyond the duration of the All Out War that's coming in Season 8.

But...how would that work? Comic fans know that the end of the war was immediately followed by a sizable time jump, something that The Walking Dead's first Season 8 trailer teased, by way of Old Rick and his cane. Granted, I would still enjoy watching Heath return to the fold no matter when it happens, but it'll take some stretches of the imagination to accept him returning to one of the communities after such a long gap.

If Heath would show up before the War was finished, though, that would make way more sense, seeing as how the timeline wasn't stretched all that long over the course of Season 7. (Maggie's pregnancy is a sure sign of that.) So he would technically only have been gone for a couple of weeks or something. Still a long time for someone trapped or being held hostage, to be sure, but not as long as the absences between Morgan's early series appearances. (And at least those were structured so that Morgan's return made sense.) There's still some months before The Walking Dead will get to filming Season 8's final episodes, so perhaps a deal can be struck that gets him back for one or some of those.

Heath was barely used on The Walking Dead even when he was around, and that's due in part to Corey Hawkins blowing up after his star turn in Straight Outta Compton, since he took a lead role in 24: Legacy that completely messed with his ability to be consistently present for filming. And even though that spinoff isn't getting a second season, part of that decision was Hawkins' own busy schedule. So if he one day is "within The Walking Dead again," it probably won't be for very long. And they might bring him back just to kill him off, a sigh-worthy scenario made all the more likely by the specific way Gimple worded things.

Without Heath waiting in the wings, The Walking Dead Season 8 will take over AMC on Sunday, October 22, at 9:00 p.m. ET. To see when everything else is hitting the small screen soon, check out our fall premiere schedule.

The Walking Dead fans always have a lot to think about between seasons, and one of the biggest questions that has been on our minds for nearly two years now is: "What's going to happen with Maggie's pregnancy?" And that question will apparently be bouncing around our skulls for quite a bit longer yet, according to Scott Gimple. When asked if anyone should expect to see Maggie giving birth in Season 8, the showrunner said this:

With "quite early in," Scott GImple is referring to Maggie's pregnancy in general, as she's seriously not all that far along by this point in the narrative, despite having first revealed to Aaron that she was expecting back in the first chunk of Season 6. So, in a sense, if Maggie actually would give birth during Season 8, it would be far scarier than heartwarming, as it would be an extremely premature delivery. I mean, her belly bump is roughly the size of what it would be if the group had a fairly sizable meal.

So even though TV viewers have been sitting with the information of Glenn and Maggie's offspring for a long time, the Walking Dead characters themselves are still warming up to the idea of a new baby in the apocalypse. I mean, everything has technically worked fine with Judith, so long as there was someone around to keep watch of her while Rick did all kinds of other things, but one would hope that everyone's situation will get a lot more stable before a new infant is introduced to this world.

And stability may very well be in the cards, since it's not likely the All Out War between Rick and Negan will go on for months and months. So Maggie could still technically be just a few months into her pregnancy when that war is complete. For those trying to keep a calendar of where things are, timewise, here's what Lauren Cohan had to say to EW.

That makes total sense, of course, since it's not like there are many days where Team Family is just sitting around without doing anything. It's almost disturbing how short the mourning period has been for everyone, and with all the hormones and emotions coursing through Maggie's body, it seems like she would be particularly on edge at all times. (Like, she should have slapped Gregory three or four times before punching him in the crotch and kicking him through a window.) But I obviously get that there's not much fun to be had in people moping around in a funk, and Maggie is quite used to compartmentalizing her sadness at this point, what with all of her family dying in terrible ways.

Speaking of the physiological side of things, Lauren Cohan also talked about Maggie being able to carry on with this kind of lifestyle as a pregnant woman.

I would have zero problems with watching Maggie continue to kick ass until she's on the brink of delivering her kiddo. But that might not be seen, since it's more than likely the comic's time jump is coming at some point after the Rick-Negan conflict has concluded. (Assuming it concludes at all.) So hopefully we won't get to see a scene play out like Lori's delivery/death. Or anything bad at all happening to either the baby or Maggie.

The Walking Dead will return to fans and AMC with the birth-avoiding Season 8 on Sunday, October 22, at 9:00 p.m. ET. To see everything else that's hitting the small screen soon, head to our fall premiere schedule.

Hiatuses between seasons of The Walking Dead are never easy, and this year's break between Seasons 7 and 8 is especially difficult after all the craziness we got in the first trailer. Most of the trailer footage pointed toward a lot of action with plenty of zombies, but it was the quick clip at the end that has had folks talking ever since the trailer was released. At the end, we see what looks like an older version of Rick waking up in a bed, and fans have come up with plenty of theories. Now, showrunner Scott Gimple has come out to debunk one particular theory, and we're pretty thankful. Here's what he had to say:

The shot in the trailer of Rick waking up naturally led some viewers to speculate that The Walking Dead was going to reveal that the first seven seasons of the show had been nothing more than an incredibly elaborate coma dream of Rick's after he was shot way back in the series premiere. Erasing the majority of the show for the sake of a coma plot twist would have been a bold way to go, but it would probably alienate a whole lot of fans as well. Apparently, we have Robert Kirkman's father to thank for Scott Gimple confirming on the pre-Season 8 Talking Dead episode that Rick is definitely not waking up from a coma at the end of the trailer.

Unfortunately, it may be a while before we find what exactly is going on with old man Rick. Scott Gimple has also said that we won't get the definitive answer about what happened to Rick in the premiere, and we'll have to wait until around midseason to get a real handle on what's happening. Now that Gimple has ruled out the coma, the odds seem greater than ever that old man Rick will appear thanks to a time jump.

A major time jump took place in Robert Kirkman's comic series, although that particular twist happened further along in the zombie apocalypse timeline than the show has reached at this point. Kirkman has said that things with old Rick aren't exactly as they seem, so we may not be able to do much more than speculate or hunt for spoilers for the foreseeable future. We do already know that the grey-bearded Rick will appear in the Season 8 premiere; at least we'll get to see him early in the season.

Season 8 will undoubtedly have plenty going on even without old man Rick on screen at all times. War broke out at the end of Season 7, when forces from Hilltop and The Kingdom joined the Alexandrians in fighting off the Saviors and the Scavengers. The stage is set for truly explosive conflicts when The Walking Dead returns for the next batch of episodes. You can catch the Season 8 premiere of The Walking Dead on Sunday, October 22 at 9 p.m. ET on AMC. For your viewing options while we wait for the premiere, take a look at our fall TV premiere schedule.

With an ensemble as big as the one on The Walking Dead, it's not rare for scenes to involve big groups of survivors, on top of the many walker extras in the background. But we all have our favorite character duos and trios, like Rick and Daryl, or (formerly) Glenn and Maggie, or (also formerly) Abraham, Eugene and Rosita. According to showrunner Scott Gimple, Season 8 will offer fans a selection of different groupings as the All Out War between Rick and Negan gets underway. In Gimple's words:

While we'll no doubt still see some of the usual couplings,such as Rick and Michonne, it sounds like Season 8 will throw everybody into a bingo cage to see which characters would end up on mini-missions and the like. After all, that big war will definitely see some characters sectioned off from the rest, possibly in troublesome situations and possibly in strategic situations. It's hard to say how close to the comics the show will stick. But in any case, fans can now have some fun over the next month coming up with idealized scenarios for who would be matched up with who.

We've seen Carol and Ezekiel together through Season 7, but what about having her return to glory involve tag-teaming with Jesus for an episode of badassery? Or maybe having Daryl and Jerry go out for a spell, which would either turn Daryl's normally grim face into something smile-filled, or it would make Jerry more dour about his everyday life. (Perhaps that idea is not in anyone's best interests.) And I don't know how interesting this would be in the least, but since we've already seen Negan put Carl through the motions, what about having the deadly villain give Enid a rough time in the Sanctuary or beyond?

The way Scott Gimple put it to TVLine, we likely won't even have to worry about these new pairings messing with who gets the most screentime on the show. In fact, he makes it sound like we'll see the opposite of the standalone episodes we got in Season 6 and Season 7. According to Gimple:

I love the sound of that, as it could easily be a more steady representation of the comic book's style of storytelling, which often jumps from one area to the next from page to page. It'll be fun to see if that change ramps up the intensity factor as well as the editing did for the first Season 8 trailer.

With Simon potentially spending more time with Michonne, or perhaps with Gregory and Morgan being pit together, The Walking Dead will make it s Season 8 premiere on AMC on Sunday, October 22, at 9:00 p.m. ET. To see when everything else is hitting the small screen soon, head to our fall premiere schedule.

Though The Walking Dead's globe-spanning fanbase is dead-set on the arrival of Season 8 in October, let no one forget that Season 7 still has some interesting details to offer, even though it ended months ago. The feature-filled Season 7 Blu-ray set is releasing soon, and understandably, the brutal season premiere gets its share of attention. But it's not necessarily the skull-crushing deaths that provided the most interesting and heartbreaking piece of info, but rather Rick's fully imagined flash-forward. In the episode's commentary track, star Michael Cudlitz fully confirms assumptions that Sasha was indeed meant to be eating for two in the brief scene.

Just the way he worded that made me stomach go all wobbly. "A future where Sasha and Abraham could do that." No need for him to even go into any speculative details about the hows and the whys about Sasha having Abraham's child, since that scenario was so far beyond the realm of possibility. By the point when Rick is having that hopeful faux-premonition in the episode, the only thing Abraham was capable of achieving was rigor mortis. The best surgeons, magicians and warlocks couldn't have given Abraham a second chance at blinking again, much less getting someone pregnant.

And it turns out the episode was originally intended to give audiences an even large look into this non-future, though the moments that were filmed weren't used within the show itself. (The scene did get added to the deleted scenes on the Blu-ray, thankfully.) Here's what showrunner Scott Gimple said about it during the same commentary track.

The scene as it was in the episode was definitely a lovely touch, as seeing Glenn holding an iteration of a child he'd never know was heartbreaking in and of itself. The extended take gives us even more of Glenn and Baby Rhee, and it also took Abraham and Sasha away from the picnic table, where it's far more obvious that Sasha is glowing with pregnancy. I almost wish this big would have been included for that reason, since it gave us one of Abraham and Sasha's last happy moments together, even if it wasn't real.

And I don't know about you guys, but for me, that dinner scene (and the unaired bits) take on even more emotional heft in the aftermath of Season 7 as a whole. Back when fans were murmuring about Sasha's baby bump in the premiere, there was some speculation that this may have been a nod to Sasha actually being pregnant, or becoming pregnant later on. That clearly wasn't the case, as Sasha made quite the impossible choice at the end of Season 7 to sacrifice herself in an effort to take Negan down. At least, I really hope that wasn't the case over the course of the rest of the season.

The Walking Dead's Season 7 Blu-ray set will be released everywhere on Tuesday, August 22. Beyond all 16 episodes from the season, the set has the expected assortment of extras to keep fans busy, including 9 different featurettes that range from behind-the-scenes looks at the season to an "In Memoriam" extra to ones focused specifically on gross walkers, badass female characters, and the big, new locations that were introduced. Further, there are a selection of deleted and alternate scenes, as well as audio commentaries with different members of the cast and crew. (Those last two were kind of obvious, given the nature of this story.)

After everyone is finished catching back up with everything Negan destroyed in Season 7, don't forget to mark your calendars for The Walking Dead's action-centric Season 8 premiere, notably its 100th episode, which will hit AMC on Sunday, October 22, at 9:00 p.m. ET. And for everything else hitting primetime before and after that date, check out our summer premiere schedule and our fall TV schedule.

The Walking Dead is one of the biggest shows on television, and AMC will probably keep it going for as long as possible. There are still plenty of stories in the comic source material that haven't yet been explored, and the series has already proved that it's not afraid to deviate from published plots. One very different direction for the show would be if the characters went to explore different parts of the zombie apocalypse. Rick and Co. have spent most of their time either in Georgia or in Virginia. Showrunner Scott Gimple recently appeared at a San Diego Comic-Con panel, and he said this when asked if the show could go to some new places:

Scott Gimple was obviously kidding when he pitched the new Walking Dead titles -- although I would totally tune in for an Inside a Volcano spinoff -- but he seemed quite genuine in revealing that The Walking Dead visiting a new locale could happen. We already know that the zombie apocalypse was a global phenomenon, and Fear the Walking Dead has made it clear that there are interesting stories to tell just about everywhere. We probably won't get Madison and Co. traveling to Alexandria or Rick and his crew heading toward Mexico to provide a crossover between the two series, but why not let some of the Walking Dead crew explore some new places?

The Walking Dead cast chimed in at the panel to pitch new places for the show to explore, and the consensus seemed to be that they'd love to film somewhere colder than Georgia. Frankly, it's hard to blame them. Jeffrey Dean Morgan has revealed that wearing his leather jacket as Negan in 120-degree heat is definitely not fun, and who can forget the look of utter defeat on Andrew Lincoln's face when Norman Reedus pulled a glitter prank on him on in the summer heat? The actors might be more inclined toward The Walking Dead: Alaskan Wilderness or Igloo Adventure than Death Valley or Inside a Volcano.

We'll have to wait and discover for ourselves if The Walking Dead does ever take the characters anywhere else. As of the Season 7 finale, they seemed pretty determined to dig their heels in at Alexandria and fight a war against Negan and the Scavengers to stick around. Something pretty awful might need to happen to send our not-so-merry band of survivors on the run again. The footage from the epic new trailer indicates that it'll be a wild ride, no matter how it ends in Season 8.

The Walking Dead will return to AMC on Sunday, October 22 at 9 p.m. ET. Check out our breakdown of what we know so far about Season 8 for a peek ahead, and don't forget to take a look at our summer TV guide.

No one can deny that The Walking Dead Season 7 was a markedly different batch of episodes than any of the previous seasons. From the arrival of Negan to the introduction of several different all-new communities, viewers were engulfed in all sorts of new sights and sounds. But rather than sprinkling those developments into the overall story, The Walking Dead offered a lot more standalone episodes than normal, leading to some fans' discontent. And those folks should cheer up, as showrunner Scott Gimple has made it pretty clear that the war storyline won't allow for any slowing down.

If you're a Walking Dead fanatic who's familiar with the way Scott Gimple answers questions, then you know to largely read between each "bit more" and "sort of" to pull out the meat of the reply. He's basically saying that we'll probably get more episodes along the lines of "The First Day of the Rest of Your Life," and fewer like "Swear," which could and should factor into The Walking Dead's weekly ratings picking back up a bit from how things went in Season 7.

It doesn't take a much more specific measurement than Nielsen ratings to prove that the slowed-down and honed-in episodes of Season 7 were among the worst in the series' history, all things considered. I can't imagine a better omen signaling a slight change in story structure. In any case, common sense would say that the more battles and aroused anger that's present on The Walking Dead, the more amped-up and kinetic things are going to get. Especially if we've got more of Simon next season. I can't wait!

Of course, this is all assuming that Season 8 actually comes together with conceivable ease. The possibility of the writers strike could be bad news for The Walking Dead -- read more about that here -- but it sounds like Scott Gimple and his team have at least a good outline of where Rick and Negan's big war will go when the show returns. And if that strike does happen and it attempts to stick around for longer than it needs to, we'll send a message to Ezekiel to let Shiva out for a while.

While The Walking Dead doesn't yet have a debut date set for Season 8, we all know that it'll probably get here at some point in October. In the meantime, check out what we know about the upcoming season, and then head to our midseason premiere schedule and our summer TV guide to see all the other shows coming to the small screen in the nearer future.

Over on AMC, the hills are alive with the sound of zombies scuttling about, and that scuttling is a lot louder over on Fear the Walking Dead, where the earlier timeline probably means there's more of them out there. Speaking of more, the network has made the early decision to renew Fear the Walking Dead for Season 4 so that the border-crossing narrative can go on for at least one more year. And it'll be making some big shake-ups behind the scenes before that point gets here.

As previously reported, co-creator Dave Erickson will be stepping down as showrunner after Season 3 has concluded, and while that wasn't as much of a concern for the future before Season 4 got ordered, that's obviously changed now. Thankfully, the renewal announcement also came with word that the showrunning position has been filled by Andrew Chambliss and Ian Goldberg, who have both been writers and producers on Once Upon a Time. Chambliss also wrote and produced for Dollhouse, Vampire Diaries and Spartacus, while Goldberg created the short-lived Freeform series Dead of Summer, and is working on the upcoming Superman prequel series Krypton. So they're both obviously in touch with what a genre series is all about.

That's not the only big change, either, as Fear the Walking Dead will be welcoming iWalking Dead showrunner and executive producer Scott Gimple to the companion series as an executive producer. While a lot of shows wouldn't necessarily make any significant changes with a new EP climbing aboard, Gimple may be coming in to offer some guidance on how the seasons are formatted and crafted. Walking Dead fans are used to that series' frequent change-ups in style from half-season to half-season, and while it's obviously not yet clear if something similar would happen in Fear, it's hard to imagine Gimple signing on to just sit back and watch.

While Scott Gimple joining Fear the Walking Dead in any capacity obviously doesn't have any direct impact on The Walking Dead proper, wouldn't it be interesting if his influence will specifically be meant to usher in a crossover of some kind? I mean, all involved have been denying a crossover's existence for years now, but what if Season 4 is the perfect time for it? It would certainly make sense for him to be there to make sure the dots all connect properly.

So even though none of these changes will affect anything we see soon, expect a bunch of craziness anyway when Season 3 of Fear the Walking Dead and all its new characters show up on AMC on Sunday, June 4, at 9:00 p.m. ET. In the meantime, head to our midseason premiere schedule and our summer TV schedule to see what's coming to the small screen in the near future.

Mild spoilers from The Walking Dead TV show and comic series are below.

The Walking Dead recently wrapped up Season 7 with the onset of the big war between Rick's newly assembled army and Negan's Saviors, and viewers will very likely see that war take up the majority of Season 8, if not all of it. Now, comic fans are really starting to wonder how the show will move on from there, since the source material introduces a giant time jump that progresses the story along in a huge way. With that game-changing period coming soon for the TV drama, showrunner Scott Gimple has offered up some hints on how it'll be handled.

If you came out of that quote a little more confused than when you went into it, it's understandable, as Scott Gimple and comic creator Robert Kirkman are absolute professionals when it comes to offering noncommittal responses to questions about The Walking Dead's future. Still, while the first bit about variations and remixes is par for the course, it's more interesting to hear him clue fans into the possibility of seeing the TV show bring to life events that were only alluded to or mentioned in passing within the comic books. As well as that last part about how the show could actually handle the time jump itself in a way different from the comics and how the show has handled its own time jumps in the past.

Everyone's mileage would definitely vary on this, but what if all or part of Season 9 was a giant time-lapsed take on the years between the All Out War and the New Beginnings story arc that immediately followed in the comics. (Or whatever starting point Gimple and Kirkman work out.) Episodes could focus on the bigger situations that weren't seen on the page, and the show could focus on connecting bigger overall dots from week to week instead of super-specific ones. After all those super-focused episodes from Season 7, I think I'd be down with a left field change like that. Unless it's terrible.

Here's what else Scott Gimple told THR about those unseen (for now) moments.

Even knowing that some of those vaguely described moments would get changed in some way for live-action, it's still a really intriguing concept. This was the period in which Michonne and Ezekiel split up, and she took off for a life on the high seas at Oceanside, and just about everything in that sentence would need to be changed for TV, since Michonne is with Rick, Ezekiel and Carol aren't even a couple yet, and Oceanside is a vastly different community on the show than it is in the comics and video game.

Aside from that, there's the development of Rick's special prison (which already has an origin on the show) and the growth of all the separate communities, as well as everything that happens within The Sanctuary once the War is over. There are tons of places to take the narrative, so here's hoping the creative team is planning something fantastic.

Post-war storylines are still a long ways away, though, since we still have Season 8 to get through when next fall rolls around. But while we're waiting to see how The Walking Dead decides to shift its timeline, head to our midseason premiere schedule and our summer TV guide to see everything coming to the small screen in the near future.

Season 7 of The Walking Dead is building up to something big. As tensions among the Survivors, Saviors, and Scavengers rise, fans can't help but wonder if we're actually going to be seeing a big Good vs. Evil showdown to cap off this season, or we're going to have to wait until Season 8 to see an outcome. Looking to ease fans' fear of another cliffhanger finale such as Season 6's polarizing ending, showrunner Scott M. Gimple said this:

Scott M. Gimple assures EW that the final three episodes of Season 7 of The Walking Dead are going to be action-packed and will likely avoid keeping viewers in the dark about any major reveals or situations. Obviously, this is great news for those who still may hold a little scorn following the cliffhanger finale of Season 6. Good on the Walking Dead team for actually giving us an ending for this season, but what will that ending be? As fans of the comic books know, the series is entering one of the most critically acclaimed arcs of the series.

Light spoilers in the next paragraph involving The Walking Dead graphic novels. Skip to the next paragraph if you're looking to avoid it.

It would appear as though The Walking Dead is preparing to recreate the All Out War arc from the source material in these last couple episodes. While there are quite a few inconsistencies between the events on the page and the AMC series - Andrea still being alive at this point, for example, and Eugene's situation - the general story of all the factions banding together to fight Negan and the Saviors is still holding up. I promise I won't reveal the outcome, but since the finale of Season 7 is titled "The First Day Of The Rest Of Your Life," how long can the arc play out? It really makes you wonder what we're going to see for Season 8!

As for the present, Morgan officially off the non-killing wagon and Carol is rearing to go and fight alongside Ezekiel; as well, it's looking like Rick will have all he needs from the junkyard folks (provided he gets their weapons) to take on Negan and finally end the madness. If The Walking Dead is looking to end the season the way I think it does, expect a crazy and hectic last three episodes with a big chunk of the action happening in the final two. Of course, with war comes casualties, so maybe it's a good time to start preparing yourself for some hard goodbyes here in the next couple weeks.

The Walking Dead is all new every Sunday at 9 p.m. ET until April 2nd, which is when we'll see the big finale ourselves. After that, you'll have to find yourself a new series to jump into! Good thing you have our trusty midseason premiere guide and Summer premiere guide to help you browse any new and returning programming right?

Warning: major spoilers ahead for The Walking Dead. If you haven't seen "Rock In The Road" yet, we advise you to check out one of our other excellent articles!

AMC's The Walking Dead has mastered the art of the cliffhanger over the course of the last seven years, and the recent midseason premiere upheld that longstanding tradition. Rick Grimes and the rest of his team found themselves cornered by a mysterious ensemble of survivors, but the final moments of the episode saw the former lawman crack a sly smile that undercut the tension. Why the hell would he seem cheerful in such an objectively bad situation? According to showrunner Scott Gimple, these people represent the solution to Rick's biggest problem, and we will understand why when the next episode airs. Gimple explained:

Scott Gimple's recent comments to THR don't necessarily give us too much insight into how Rick and the rest of the Alexandria survivors will get out of this situation, but his explanation tells us what's going through Rick's mind. While there's clearly a "here we go again" element to Rick's grin, Gimple's words seem like a strong indication that Mr. Grimes will use his finely honed diplomatic skills to convince this mysterious group of survivors to side with Alexandria, The Kingdom, and The Hilltop against Negan and his Saviors.

Everyone's favorite bat-wielding bad guy has done some pretty thorough accounting when it comes to the weapons and supplies owned by nearby settlements. He apparently doesn't know about this new group of (heavily armed) people, and they could become Rick's trump card in the coming battle -- along with the explosives that the group stole at the climax of the episode. The resistance is growing, and All Out War has become inevitable. At least we now know that The Walking Dead seems to be moving beyond the nasty habit of going weeks without returning to a given storyline; that was a major downside of Season 7A.

Of course, plenty of fans have also started to theorize that Rick may be smiling at a particular person in this group. It's unclear if Rick is specifically looking at someone when the episode ends, but the arrival of a familiar face could signal to him that a friendly discussion is possible. Maybe that's why Father Gabriel absconded with the supplies in the first place; he needed a peace offering.

We will see how this seemingly dire situation pans out when The Walking Dead returns this Sunday at 9 p.m. EST on AMC. For more information regarding all of the remaining spring 2017 TV debuts, make sure to take a look at our midseason premiere guide!

The Walking Dead brought viewers to several different places in the first half of Season 7, and while The Kingdom and The Sanctuary were largely similar to their comic book counterparts, the same couldn't quite be said for Oceanside, seen in the Tara-focused installment "Swear." The episode wasn't a hit with fans, but the all-female population made for some interesting speculation, and we'll thankfully get to learn more about it soon. According to showrunner Scott Gimple, it will connect with a character that definitely isn't Tara. In his words:

Aw, snap! Somebody inside of Oceanside, or perhaps everyone inside Oceanside, knows something that Rick doesn't know. (I tried to make that sound like singsong childish chiding, but it wasn't very good.) Though we didn't learn much beyond the general origin story from leader Nantania and the rest, it seems obvious to me that everything we did learn will play into how they're used in the future.

Before Oceanside was formed, the group's previous community became one of Negan's conquests, but it didn't take long to reach a breaking point. The survivors faced the Saviors head-on, but their valiant efforts were thwarted, and Negan's posse slaughtered all of the male residents, taking some of the consenting females back to the Sanctuary. Under the threat of death, the others hightailed it and set up shop in the Oceanside campground, hidden from outsiders' eyes. So it's pretty obvious how Rick would be assisted by coming into contact with them, since he's also going to begin planning a mutinous retaliation against Lucille's owner.

Rick won't be able to get any tips on how to defeat Negan, of course, but any information about one's enemy is good information to have. He, Michonne, Maggie, Sasha and the rest will be able to get an idea of how the Saviors strategize both their attacks and their defenses, in a way that will make more sense to them than it would have back before Negan showed his face. Daryl, Carl and Jesus could probably make a map on how to get back to the Sanctuary at this point, so Rick just needs a lot more intel on his foes themselves. That will surely make him smile.

Though there might not be any immediate callback to the show's newest community, The Walking Dead will drop its midseason premiere on The CW on Sunday, February 12, at 9:00 p.m. ET. Head to our midseason premiere schedule to check out what's coming to the small screen next.

Season 7 of The Walking Dead has been a pretty unpredictable one. Following the absolutely brutal premiere which saw two main characters violently killed, we've had no way to predict what would be next. Part of this is the mere scope of the season, as The Walking Dead has gone back to their old MO. With four different settings, Season 7 has been full of capsule episodes which focus on just a few characters at a time. Because of this, fans have been left to question every nuanced moment of the episodes, leading to some interesting fan theories.

Perhaps the most popular theory of the season comes from two episodes ago. When Negan shows up to Alexandria with Daryl in tow, Rick and Daryl make eye contact and seem to silently communicate. Daryl blinks his eyes a bunch of times, leading many to wonder if he was actually communicating to Rick in morse code, revealing where The Saviors were hiding. While producer Scott Gimple has stated this wasn't purposeful by the show, he admits that the actors involved could have added it for each other's amusement. He said:

In a recent interview with Yahoo, Scott Gimple revealed that Andrew Lincoln and Norman Reedus may have been using morse code to communicate with each other. And although that might be a bit far fetched, it's clear that Daryl and Rick from The Walking Dead weren't using morse code to speak with each other on the DL.

The theory that Daryl and Rick were secretly communicating actually got a bit of encouragement in the most recent episode of The Walking Dead. Last week's episode was focused on Maggie and Sasha at The Hilltop. One of the final moments saw Sasha ask Jesus to find out where The Saviors' base is. This mystery is exactly what the folks at Alexandria are wondering, and the theory states that Daryl was communicating in morse code in order to tell Rick which direction to go. If you drank the theory kool-aid, this would mean that two different groups are trying to get Negan's location so they could all fight back against The Saviors.

Of course, Scott Gimple has totally disavowed the morse code theory, so we should probably just move on. But come on, that would be an awesome twist.

The Walking Dead airs Sundays on AMC. Stay here with CinemaBlend for updates on everyone's favorite apocalypse.

Spoiler alert for anyone who isn't caught up on The Walking Dead, with some general comic info also coming up.

To many, this season of The Walking Dead may feel like a revision of the front half of Season 6, with its honed-in focus on specific characters and settings. But the central narrative's expansion in Season 7 is for a greater purpose, as Alexandria, The Kingdom and the Hilltop Colony are all meant to come together as one in the fight against Negan familiarly known as the "All-Out War." At least that's how it went in Robert Kirkman's comic book. But according to showrunner Scott Gimple, TV audiences might not get to see that particular storyline play out in the same way.

The TV show is currently deep in the "March to War" comic book arc, which was all about bringing in new and memorable characters, as well as deepening Negan's character development through his vicious tyranny. Both of those things have been happening in live-action, so it should only make sense that delegates from all three protagonist locations - namely Rick, Ezekiel and Jesus - would come together in a grand effort to topple Negan's throne. But if Scott Gimple is serious about switching things around with the eventual "war," that could be one of the biggest page-to-screen changes we've seen so far.

There are good reasons why a decision like that would be made. One, after years of slowly moving through the first chunk of the comics, The Walking Dead hastily plowed through Negan's build-up on the way to the cliffhanger in last season's finale, so expanding and stretching the "March to War" effort could be a way to re-balance the pacing. (It wouldn't be good for anyone if the TV show caught up to the comic storyline by Season 8.) As well, we only just met Negan, so it would be kind of shitty to bring in the "War" efforts so early in his run, unless an entire season is devoted to it. He's easily the best villain in The Walking Dead, so Negan's presence needs to be as powerful as possible, for as long as possible.

As far as how the show will slow down its pre-War shambling, Scott Gimple further explained to ComicBook.com that while the AMC drama will definitely still be using what's in the comics as its foundation, they will continue to freshen things up as such.

We have definitely seen Walking Dead fans go berserk over changes made to the source material in the past, and last Sunday's episode featured its own remixing by putting Jesus with Carl on the Sanctuary recon mission. But for some fans, merely teasing any major alterations to the comic series' All-Out War storyline is tantamount to fictional treason. After all, the "Rick vs. Negan" element is what has made The Walking Dead's issues post-#100 so thrilling and addictive, and delaying that or watering it down in any way will surely earn the creative team some harsh words. Not that Gimple & Co. haven't gotten used to outspoken viewers.

With a war possibly on the way or possibly not, The Walking Dead airs Sunday nights on AMC. Check out our fall TV schedule and our midseason premiere schedule to see all the things coming your way on the small screen.

Spoiler alert for anyone who hasn't seen the latest episode of The Walking Dead.

A show like The Walking Dead is ripe for fan theories, due to its large viewership, its detailed source material and its rich production design. So it's not so surprising that viewers can get caught up in what they see on screen, and last Sunday's episode offered up some seemingly hyper-distinct acting from Norman Reedus that had many thinking he was passing unspoken secret messages to Rick about the location of Negan's Sanctuary. Showrunner Scott Gimple has a response to this speculation that some of us might not want to hear.

You know, he isn't specifically stating, "No, Daryl isn't blinking out Morse code with his eyes, and no, Rick wouldn't understand it even if Daryl was doing that." But there are the implications. To lay out the details in quick fashion, Negan paraded a silent Daryl around for the villain's first visit to Alexandria, and there was one scene where Daryl seemed to be blinking in an intentionally staggered way when he and Rick were standing more or less face-to-face. When Morse code was applied, the message appeared to be "I East," indicating the Saviors' headquarters is due east from Alexandria.

Of course Scott Gimple is going to try to distance fans from this train of thought, and there's no argument that Occam's razor indicates that Norman Reedus was probably just unable to look forward into bright sunlight without blinking and squinting. It's also possible sweat was getting into his eyes during that point in filming. Hell, there are all kinds of reasons why one shouldn't just automatically assume another person's blinks are filled with vital data.

But if there really isn't any extra info embedded into Daryl's eye movements - you can get a better look at them here - then that means the big ass Morse code chart on the wall in Rick and Michonne's house was just coincidental set dressing, which is kind of ridiculous. However, perhaps it was the presence of the chart that subconsciously caused viewers to see a code in Daryl's blinks. And perhaps that's exactly what Scott Gimple wants us to think, while the real truth is that Rick and Daryl are robots who were programmed to already understand Morse code. I'm not attached to that theory.

For all that he's cool with dashing fans' extreme thought processes, Scott Gimple doesn't take the fanbase's rampant hypothesizing for granted. Here's what else he told ComicBook.com about it.

The Walking Dead may or may not be sending out S.O.S. distress signals combined with compass directions every Sunday night on AMC. Head to our fall premiere schedule and midseason premiere schedule to see what other shows are shambling your way in the future.

Warning: spoilers ahead for the Season 7 premiere of The Walking Dead.

The first episode of The Walking Dead Season 7 wasn't exactly a barrel of laughs for anybody not named Negan. The deaths of Abraham and Glenn were sad enough; the breaking of Rick and the near mutilation of Carl just upped the horror ante. Throw in Daryl being carted away by the Saviors for leverage and Maggie's complete breakdown, and it was pretty much a huge bummer of an episode. Showrunner Scott Gimple had this to say about what will be different in the second episode of Season 7:

Unless that tiger wears a top hat and does a dance to welcome people to The Kingdom, I have a hard time imagining how the second episode could possibly be funny. Rick and Co. still need to go back to Alexandria and explain why Glenn, Maggie, Daryl, and Abraham aren't among them. There are a lot of pieces for them to try to put back together. Still, from what we know of The Kingdom, Scott Gimple's assurance on The Talking Dead that it will feel funny after the brutality of the premiere makes sense.

King Ezekiel promises to be larger than life in a much more positive way than the speechifying of Negan, so we shouldn't worry that he'll make his grand debut by lining up a bunch of survivors and siccing his tiger on any of them. In fact, as long as nobody crosses Ezekiel in a big way, we probably don't have to wonder about Shiva eating anybody alive anytime soon. The Kingdom - complete with Ezekiel the king and Shiva the tiger - sounds as close to a paradise as can possibly exist in the zombie apocalypse.

Unfortunately, Rick and the other survivors of Negan's wrath may not get to experience the bounties of The Kingdom just yet. The Season 6 finale revealed that only Carol and Morgan would be taken to The Kingdom, presumably in order for Carol to recuperate from her wounds. Unless they somehow get word of what happened between the Saviors and the Alexandrians, they may be able to enjoy the Kingdom for a while before they even find out about Glenn, Abraham, and Daryl. Hopefully the Kingdom does a good job fixing Carol up; she may want to storm the Saviors' compound all by her lonesome when she finds out that they took Daryl.

The second episode of Season 7 will have the time to be funnier than the first episode. It will be supersized from the usual sixty minutes with commercials to seventy-six minutes with commercials. The extra sixteen minutes could allow the show to ease the tension down from the action of the premiere and shift into some of the lighter elements from The Kingdom.

Tune in to The Walking Dead on Sunday, October 30 at 9 p.m. ET on AMC to get the first look at The Kingdom. Until then, I'm going to think happy thoughts about a dancing tiger in a top hat and monocle to soothe the sting of Glenn's and Abraham's deaths.

While so many of The Walking Dead's lead characters are - at least within the context of the show - on their knees dealing with a mystery victim's death, Morgan and Carol are on the verge of opening up the show's landscape through the introduction of The Kingdom, a location known well by comic fans. According to Scott Gimple, there's something very different about this new Season 7 setting, and it isn't just that there's a school building involved.

I love hearing that. We've been following Rick & Co. around for six years, and disaster has come to just about every area that any of them have used as a temporary shelter, from farms to prisons to train cars. Until Alexandria, there hadn't been anything resembling stability since Hershel's place, and it's not like Alexandria has been the most well-protected community. I mean, it seemed to have been before Rick's group came around, but Pete was there, and Pete sucked. The Kingdom already wins because there's no Pete there, and also because of the food.

In the comics, The Kingdom hasn't always gotten a good amount of the spotlight, so having it in live-action will be a treat, and it sounds like we'll get to see something of a festive atmosphere happening here. (Or as close to festive as it can get at this point in the post-apocalypse.) That is most certainly not a vibe we are used to seeing on The Walking Dead, and it's one that probably won't get to last very long within The Kingdom, given Negan's broadening reign of tyranny. Still, though, any celebratory port in a storm, right? It might not have Spaghetti Tuesday or anything amazing like that, but there's probably booze. (Will Abraham be around to drink all of it, though?)

The Kingdom will also finally introduce us to another leader that doesn't have any secret malicious motivations invested in move he makes. (At least, that's what we think.) Gimple went on to tell EW more about what to expect from King Ezekiel, and this definitely sounds faithful to the source material.

Yes, one of the things that makes Ezekiel great is his tiger Shiva, but the character would be a hoot even without the striped protection. As Gimple puts it, this guy is bigger than life and very much tied to the world of theatrics, so his attitude is far more grand than the world-weary cynicism plaguing Rick and his people. I imagine Ezekiel and the still somewhat morally grounded Morgan will get along well. They just need to hurry up and get here.

The Walking Dead will return to AMC for its world-building (and world-destroying) Season 7 on Sunday, October 23, at 9:00 p.m. ET. To see when everything else is coming back to the small screen, check out our fall TV schedule.

The Walking Dead spent a long time teasing the return of Morgan Jones. Not many characters get to come back on the series unless they're in the form of a zombie, but it always felt possible that he could show up out of nowhere to reunite with Rick. He finally did in the Season 5 finale, but as it turns out, he was originally intended to return in a more regular role much earlier. Showrunner Scott Gimple had this to say about the original plan to bring Lennie James back as Morgan:

I have to say, I love Scott Gimple's description of Morgan as a "gentleman" stepping out of the shadows. I immediately think of a zombie apocalypse survivor wearing a monocle and a smoking jacket, and that's just a fun image. Would it have undercut the tension of Rick and Co. being captured by cannibals? Sure. But it would have been funny.

More seriously, the reveal that Morgan almost turned up in the Season 4 finale rather than the Season 5 finale paints an interesting picture of what could have happened. Viewers already knew that Glenn and Co. would probably turn up in the train car and reunite with Rick in the worst possible circumstances. Morgan emerging from the shadows could have been a major shocker to raise the stakes. As it happens, there was a very simple reason why Morgan's grand return to the world of the zombie apocalypse didn't happen in Season 4. Scott Gimple went on in his audio commentary for the Season 6 DVDs (via EW) to explain that Lennie James just wasn't available at the time.

Season 4 was ending in 2014, which happened to be shortly after Lennie James' AMC series Low Winter Sun was cancelled. The timing could have been perfect...if only Lennie James hadn't already committed to another project. He had signed on to star in British series Critical and would not be available for another AMC series. Critical was cancelled after only fifteen episodes, which was unfortunate for fans of that show but great for Walking Dead fans who had been missing Morgan, who could now return.

Morgan appeared a couple of times in Season 5 before coming to Daryl's rescue in the finale and showing up in Alexandria in time to see Rick execute a man. He spent Season 6 as a foil to both Rick and Carol, and it looks like he might have a key role in Season 7 as Alexandria's first contact with the Kingdom. It could have worked if Morgan had joined the crew in the end of Season 4; but it definitely worked that he didn't appear until the end of Season 5.

The Walking Dead returns to the airwaves on Sunday, October 23 at 9 p.m. ET on AMC. Check out our breakdown of what we know so far about The Walking Dead Season 7, and take a look at our fall TV premiere schedule to see what else you'll be able to watch in the near future.

It's a pretty [censored] good week to be a Walking Dead fan, especially if you're at Comic-Con. The show dropped the very first Season 7 trailer on everybody last week, giving us a better idea of what to expect from the new characters (like Ezekiel) and new locations. And during The Walking Dead's press conference, I asked Robert Kirkman and Scott Gimple if the show would continue filming multiple versions of Negan's scenes through Season 7 to release as uncensored cuts. Here's how Gimple put it.

Whether you're familiar with the comic or not, let it be known that Negan is a character for whom adult language is like a sixth sense. As easily as he's able to see or feel something, he's able to talk about it with as many F-bombs as humanly possible, as well as sporadic references to one's genitalia. He's a villain whose place on live-action TV would be similar to Scarface getting turned into a TNT series, and many fans worried that the show would water him down to make him better suited for advertisers.

But no, the creative team behind The Walking Dead had the solid idea for the Season 6 finale to just film specific scenes twice to allow for a safe-for-AMC edit, and an uncensored cut for Blu-rays and DVDs where Jeffrey Dean Morgan can speak the expletive-laden dialogue that's more faithful to the source material. Fans have yet to see exactly what that alternate take looks and sounds like, since Season 6 has yet to come out for home release, so it's unclear at this point if it will be worth the effort. At least for people who never read the comics. For anybody who ever got the heebie jeebies reading Negan telling Rick about what he just slipped down his throat, though, it should be quite a treat.

It was good of Gimple to point out that they're only doing the key scenes from the comics, presumably those where Negan's language is particularly memorable for its flowery filth. Hopefully there will also be simpler moments where a "fuckity fuck fuck" can come into play even without an entire sequence being involved. If Jeffrey Dean Morgan weren't already so damned good at spitting out foul atrocities, this probably wouldn't be as big of an issue.

The Walking Dead will [censored] return for Season [censored] 7 on AMC starting on [censored] Sunday, October 23, at 9 p.m. ET. Don't [censored] miss it, you [censored]. For everything else premiering later this year, check out our fall TV schedule.

Warning: spoilers ahead for the finale of Season 6 of The Walking Dead are in this story. Read at your own risk.

The Season 6 finale of The Walking Dead was super-sized to an hour and a half, and those bloody final minutes are probably burned into the brains of plenty of viewers everywhere. The image of Negan beating somebody to death with his trusty baseball bat Lucille was scary, but the real horror of that last scene was the fact that it ended without revealing who had been killed. While showrunner Scott Gimple didn’t give reveal who died, he does promise that he knows how Season 7 will kick off:

Well, at least there’s one person who won’t be spending the summer scrounging for spoilers and Zapruder-ing the final scene for clues about who’s dead. Scott Gimple’s chat with Comicbook.com reveals that he knows for sure how he’s going to kick off Season 7. That's reassuring in the sense that the team behind The Walking Dead isn't just winging it, but it also kind of throws salt in the very open wound. After all, the Season 6 finale denied us an answer about the big death.

Gimple’s certainty that the Season 7 premiere will push boundaries does bode well for fans. Given the show has already shown an elderly man getting decapitated, a blood-covered little girl smiling over the corpse of her sister, and the bloodbath midseason premiere that cost Carl an eye and the Anderson clan their lives, The Walking Dead really must not be pulling any punches with the fallout of Negan’s kill. Those of us who have stuck around for six seasons can probably handle whatever gruesomeness awaits us in Season 7. Besides, if we had to sit through Rick’s lukewarm courtship of Jessie, we deserve to see just what Negan did and why it was worth keeping us worrying all summer.

Of course, that’s assuming that some of us still have the will to worry by the time that Season 7 gets around to premiering next fall. A cliffhanger such as concealing who got a face full of Lucille might be fun to dissect for a little while, but the wondering is likely to be frustrating sooner or later. For a look at what details have been released of what’s coming next for The Walking Dead, check out our breakdown of what we know about what Scott Gimple will be bringing us when Season 7 finally kicks off. 

Spoilers if you haven’t caught last night’s Walking Dead Season 6 finale yet. The episode was a doozy, so if you haven’t, yet, get on that!

The Walking Dead threw fans through a lot of emotional ups and downs during the show's sixth season. Obviously, fans who watched all of Season 6 know the series ended on a cliffhanger earlier this season when the aftermath of the “glenncident” wasn’t revealed for several weeks. With one major cliffhanger already happening last fall, you would think The Walking Dead might choose to avoid a large cliffhanger in the Season 6 finale. Ultimately, that theory proved to be untrue, as Negan and Lucille did show up, but we still don’t know who bit the dusk at the villain's hands. A lot of fans were frustrated with that ending, but showrunner Scott M. Gimple revealed on The Talking Dead that he knows the ends will need to justify the means. 

Honestly, there were inklings on the interwebs that Season 6 might end the way it ultimately did before the episode aired, so the cliffhanger finale wasn’t a huge shock when it came. In fact, the ending is very reminiscent of the Jon Snow cliffhanger that Game of Thrones opted to use at the end of Season 5. The outcome means that we will be talking about the cliffhanger ending until the day The Walking Dead hits the schedule next fall.

This has more pros and cons than it at first seems. Many fans have been frustrated with the POV we were given when Negan was finally introduced on the small screen and even used Lucille. The audience saw the bat swing down from the perspective of the person who was on the receiving end of the weapon, which is how we are able to know someone is dead or dying despite not knowing who that person is. Because the scene was pivotal to this weekend's finale, fans have already emotionally invested in the scene. Six months from now, the anticipation for that moment is not going to be nearly as high. Harkening back to Game of Thrones again, I think most of us can agree we are a little tired of talking about the Jon Snow thing at this point. If The Walking Deadwants to avoid fan fatigue, it means the show is going to have to deliver at the beginning of Season 7—and deliver in a huge way. 

As Scott Gimple also mentioned on the late night talk show, when we find out who was on the receiving end, the show will be kicking off an entire new storyline, which should help to make the moment momentous. 

The other big takeaway on The Talking Dead that we got is that  no one in the cast seems to know exactly where Season 7 is heading right now. On the bright side, AMC has already renewed the long-running drama for next year, so the creative team can get to work, knowing the budget and episode count is already cemented for the 2016-2017. You can check out all the details we know about the upcoming Season 7 with our what we know guide.

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With five episodes left in Season 6, The Walking Dead is currently expanding the borders of its central locations and bringing in a batch of new characters, most of which were first introduced in the comic books. But all eyes are out for the dreaded Negan, the epic villain set to make an appearance at some point before this season is over. And while we thought it would happen in the finale, showrunner Scott Gimple is fine with teasing fans by saying Negan could show up even earlier.

If one could only use a single word to describe Scott Gimple, it would be “comfortable with messing with fans.” Gimple doesn’t play by the normal rules, as evidenced by that whole Glenn situation, so why should we?

Anyway, there’s no reason to take playful jabs at Gimple when he’s offering up a future that might bring Jeffrey Dean Morgan’s foul-mouthed murderer to The Walking Dead sooner than we expected. For that, he should be commended and applauded, assuming Gimple isn’t just kidding or using “see him” to mean there’s a piece of wall graffiti that looks like Negan that shows up for a second in the background of a dark scene. I mean, I’d still cheer that, but I wouldn’t be necessarily happy.

Negan is definitely coming, especially now that we’re already inside of the Hilltop Colony where Gregory can get on our nerves. Some very bad things are on the horizon that might put some very important characters at risk of getting their heads bashed in. And Rick is the one who’s going to get that big deadly ball rolling, now that he’s told Jesus that Negan will be found and killed, since Rick’s initial attempt to quell something disastrous always ends up backfiring.

But while Negan’s more iconic moments likely won’t be seen until the finale and beyond, Gimple’s words to TheWrap have me thinking that maybe we’ll get to see a menacing shot or two of him in the next few episodes. Something that could have been filmed after those episodes had finished production, but still edited into them without any continuity errors. Or it might be like the episode where Daryl and Dwight’s crew were hiding from those other Saviors, and we only saw that one guy’s legs in blue jeans; maybe we’ll just see Negan’s leg, with his bat Lucille propped up next to it. There are almost too many ways in which these kinds of appearances could happen, so I’d better stop now before the end of the season passes and I’m still sitting here speculating.

Possibly with a side of Negan or possibly not, The Walking Dead airs Sunday nights on AMC.

Spoilers below if you aren't caught up on The Walking Dead.

Within the ranks of The Walking Dead’s main characters, Rick Grimes can easily be seen as “the establishment,” while it’s hard to imagine anyone replacing Daryl as the show’s biggest rebel. Their differing ideologies made for small scraps in the seemingly distant past, but showrunner Scott Gimple hints that the rest of Season 6 will involve both men continuing to head down different paths, which could cause some conflict in the future.

Now on opposite sides of the same coin, at least as far as the worth and growth of the community is concerned, Rick and Daryl will definitely have some things to discuss in the near future as the show expands beyond Alexandria’s boundaries to other places, some far more dangerous than others. If Rick truly is now more accepting of others and intent on limiting his dour initial impressions of people, that will go a long way in expanding the scope of a future society for this group. But where will Daryl’s place be in this future, now that he has had all of his hard-earned optimism stolen along with his motorcycle and crossbow?

I’m guessing we’ll get a version of Daryl that is closer to Rick at the point when Aaron came out of nowhere and introduced himself to everyone. “Who are you, you rapist killer and possible cannibal, and what is it of ours that you want to steal?” Now that Carl’s had his eye blown out, Rick will pretty much have carte blanche on all emotional decisions in the future, and I’m not sure Gimple and creator Robert Kirkman have it in them to let Daryl really win in an argument between these guys.

It’s so weird that Rick and Daryl are each in the headspace that the other was in just days previously, at least within the show’s timeline. And that each was driven into a different state of mind in a fairly ridiculous way. Daryl, the outsider with a general distrust for people, finds temporary hope in humanity that is dashed hardcore by people he shouldn’t have trusted (probably because they kidnapped him), which is basically just a sign that he never should have shifted his instincts in the first place. And Rick now has regained faith in others after one idiot son of the woman he fell in lust with got them both killed, and also after her other idiot son shot Carl in the face. But hey, he is totes inspired by everyone chipping in and taking on the massive horde of walkers they’d spent the day being afraid of. I mean, who wouldn’t be inspired by Eugene?

Gimple also told THR that we probably won't be seeing the Saviors again for a while, and I'm wondering how it will go when they reappear. Will Rick attempt to make peace, while Daryl knowingly advises against that?

While we thought in the past that it would be Rick and Morgan butting heads this season, the bo-swinging Morgan is now at odds with Carol, which doesn’t bode well for him. And next week’s episode, which will jump forward in time a bit, will pair Rick and Daryl together for a spell, which could easily take a downward turn. However it goes, here’s my advice to Daryl: hang on to any and all explosive weapons.

The Walking Dead airs Sunday nights on AMC.

Fans of The Walking Dead have already been waiting months for the highly anticipated arrival of comic book villain Negan. Negan, who will be played by established actor Jeffrey Dean Morgan, is one of the comic’s most nefarious and violent characters. So, it’s safe to assume that shit is going to hit the fan once he hits the small screen. However, Walking Dead showrunner Scott Gimple has recently opened about the true danger in the show moving forward:

Well I’m pretty blindsided by that statement. But it does make sense. After all, our group of survivors are all extremely deadly fighters. To add to that, they’ve been able to get their strength back behind the walls of the Alexandria safe zone. They’ve been able to get well-needed rest, they haven't had to worry about food, and they even have an armory at their disposal.

They’re going to need it too- because Rick’s group of survivors is facing a variety of threats at the moment. In addition to the horde of zombies that are currently roaming Alexandria, there are presumably more Wolves out there (including the one who kidnapped Denise), as well as Negan’s group of saviors. That’s going to take a lot of bullets, and a ton of luck.

Negan’s group will undoubtedly be the most severe threat to our group. In Daryl’s one starring episode of the season, “Always Accountable” we are told by Dwight that the saviors have safety, supplies, and people at their disposal. It sounds like the crash course training that Rosita gave the Alexandrians might have been too little, too late.

Scott Gimple’s comments may be teasing a darker side of Rick’s group, as well. If they’re the scariest ones, it means they may be taking extreme measures to ensure their safety. Indeed, we’ve been teased with a majorly gruesome comic moment by the trailer for the winter premiere of The Walking Dead. Adding Rick’s statements to Tara and Michonne that they can’t possibly save all of the Alexandrians, it seems like our merry group of survivors might do some terrible things to their community members in order to live.

It should be be interesting to see how the more moral members of the group (Morgan, Michonne, Father Gabriel) attempt to keep the group on a steady path when chaos occurs. Deanna’s final words to Rick were that all of the community are his people- but it remains to be seen if he’ll be able to follow through in reality.

The Walking Dead is returning to AMC on February 14th and is promising a violent first episode. We’ll see how scary our group truly can be at that time.