“The world is ours with everything we’ve beaten, everything we’ve become,” Rick says in this new preview for season 8 of The Walking Dead. “No matter what comes next, we’ve already won!” But what comes next ain’t gonna be pretty, reads the caption that accompanies the video on the show’s official Instagram account.
It’s a tantalizing tease of the all-out war that’s about to go down between the various communities (Alexandria, the Kingdom and the folks residing on the Hilltop) and Negan and his Saviors. Set to kick off later this month with the season 8 premiere, we’ve been assured that “Mercy,” will ring in the show’s 100th episode in style. Championed as an “explosive” start to what’s been described as a suitably breathless instalment of AMC’s undead flagship, showrunner Scott Gimple has consistently assured viewers that both he and The Walking Dead‘s creators have learned from past mistakes – specifically the sluggish pacing and drab story that crippled season 7.
Not only that, but producer Greg Nicotero recently highlighted season 8’s rat-a-tat pace, which will surely banish any half-forgotten memories of trudging through season 7’s quieter moments.
I think we’re accelerating our pace a little bit this season in terms of maybe having some of those little moments kind of conclude a little sooner as opposed to maybe dragging them out over long periods of time. So I think that the show’s going to have a tremendous amount of momentum this year.
Clear the schedule, folks; The Walking Dead season 8 premieres via AMC on Sunday, October 22nd at 9 pm ET/PT, and it’s about to knock us all off our feet.
