Fan-favorites Rick (Andrew Lincoln) and Maggie (Lauren Cohan) prepare for war in this brand new look at The Walking Dead season 8, which comes to us by way of Entertainment Weekly.
Arriving hot on the heels of a new banner and just in time to whet our appetite before San Diego Comic-Con kicks off later this week, below you’ll find the two characters chatting, with a gun hanging around Rick’s shoulder. What could they be discussing? We can’t say for sure, but most likely, they’re having a pep talk about the “all-out war” that’s about to go down.
After all, we know that Jeffrey Dean Morgan’s Negan will be on the back foot by the time The Walking Dead returns in October. In light of season 7, the ragtag communities of Alexandria, the Hilltop, and the Kingdom have cobbled together to form the apocalyptic equivalent of a coalition in order to defeat Morgan’s sadist once and for all. Doing so won’t be easy, of course, but the promise of the impending battle will surely have the show’s impassioned fanbase reeling with excitement as season 8 begins to draw near.
In tandem with the new photo, EW also caught up with series showrunner Scott M. Gimple to discuss the ways in which The Walking Dead‘s latest season dives into the beloved “All Out War” arc from the comics.
“We have basically set the stage for All Out War,” says Gimple. “Negan’s said it, everybody has seen they’re in it. It will play out quickly and propulsively and attentively and will shift around the focus quite a bit between the different places and battlegrounds and characters and communities.”
Furthermore, Gimple also notes that Rick’s swagger is back in season 8, and we’ll see it right from the start.
“His swagger is definitely back,” says Gimple. “But it’s a measured swagger. It’s a focused swagger. He absolutely has it and you will see it in episode 1.”
The eighth season of The Walking Dead will premiere in the fall, but it may arrive a little later than expected. That’s because Fear The Walking Dead‘s third season, one which returns from hiatus on September 10th, is expected to stretch all the way through until October 22nd. Our guess? The network will likely hold fire until October 29th before unveiling The Walking Dead‘s latest batch of episodes.
