There are lots of questions that fans have going into the upcoming eighth season of The Walking Dead, and one of those is the issue of Maggie’s pregnancy. Lauren Cohan’s character has been carrying her and Glenn’s baby since the tail-end of season 6, leaving us to wonder if Baby Rhee will finally be born in the next run.
Surprisingly, The Walking Dead showrunner Scott Gimple has given a straight answer to that question. When asked about it during Sunday’s preview of the season premiere, he replied:
“Maggie’s baby will not be born is Season 8. But anything’s possible.”
Gimple’s direct response gives us a lot of clues as to what we can expect from the new season. Most notably, it confirms that it will take place over a contracted space of time. It hasn’t been specified but, going by the fact that Maggie showed no physical signs of pregnancy by the end of last season, it can be assumed that she’s less than three months pregnant. So, that means the 16-part eighth season must take place over a less than six month period.
For fans who know the comics, this turn of events might not be so unexpected. In Robert Kirkman’s source material, we never actually see Maggie and Glenn’s baby being born. Due to the time jump that takes place after the “All Out War” storyline, things pick up when the young boy is a little over a year old. Seeing as this time jump has been alluded to in the recent trailer, it’s safe to assume that it’ll occur at the end of the season. That way, Gimple’s statement about Maggie’s baby not being born this year remains true.
In the meantime, Maggie has more pressing issues to deal with than her pregnancy. The Walking Dead season 8 sees her leading the Hilltop community alongside Rick’s Alexandrians, the Kingdom and more against Negan and his Saviors when the show returns to AMC on October 22nd.
