AMC is currently bracing for a “new era” of The Walking Dead. Or so says Angela Kang.
The newly-appointed showrunner took over from Scott M. Gimple during the show’s summer break, when it was revealed that star Andrew Lincoln and The Walking Dead were about to go their separate ways – ditto for Lauren Cohan, whose Maggie Rhee is expected to be phased out of the hit zombie drama come October.
All of this leaves AMC facing a somewhat tricky transition period, and while there are still many questions to be answered between now and October, it’s clear that one character who’s going to be stepping up in a big way is Daryl Dixon, as played by Norman Reedus. With Rick and Maggie on their way out, the fan favorite will soon find himself as the show’s new lead and while we’re still not sure what lies ahead for him, EW’s debuted the first look at Daryl in season 9 today, which you can see below.
Speaking to the outlet about how the next run will handle the fallout of Rick deciding to spare Negan at the end of season 8, Kang revealed the following:
“There will definitely be story about Maggie and Daryl and Rick and where they are at with each other. I don’t want to spoil too much about that storyline, but there will be some surprises along the way with it. It’s definitely something that we will be exploring this season.”
Further details on The Walking Dead‘s ninth season will no doubt be revealed next week, when AMC’s flagship will be among those in attendance at San Diego Comic-Con. A concrete premiere date is all but certain, though we may also get our first look at season 9 in motion, too. As always, stay tuned for more.
