The Walking Dead: 10 Awesome Moments From The Season 8 Trailer

The first trailer for season 8 of The Walking Dead is finally here, courtesy of the show's panel at San Diego Comic-Con yesterday. It's an extra-long five-minute presentation that teases a massive change of pace this season compared to last year, and we couldn't be more excited about it. It's fair to say that season 7 rubbed many fans up the wrong way due to its meandering plotline, slow-burning pace and lack of punch - not including the most gut-punching episode in the show's history with the premiere, of course. For season 8, then, the cast and crew have been promising us for a while that things will be much more action-packed and this trailer proves that they were speaking the truth. With the communities of Alexandria, Hilltop, the Kingdom and the Heapsters all combined against Negan and his Saviors, Rick Grimes and co. will be hoping to take the bat-wielding maniac down for good. But Negan isn't known for letting others walk all over him, so you can be sure it won't be an easy fight. In fact, it looks like our heroes have an all-out war on their hands. There's a lot for fans to get excited about in this trailer, so let's get started with picking out the best bits. Join us as we dive into the new footage and be sure to leave your own thoughts on it in the usual place. "You're About To Sh*t Your Pants" The trailer opens with a pretty meta moment, as Negan's voice can be heard saying: "I hope you got your sh*ttin' pants on..." The video then fades into a scene with poor old Father Gabriel looking terrified in what looks to be a room with walkers pounding at the windows and doors. Negan walks out from the shadows and continues: "Your sh*ttin' pants. I hope you're wearing them right now. 'Cause you... are about to sh*t your pants." It's a great way to kick off the trailer, as it's basically a promise - delivered in Negan's own unique way - that there's some awesome stuff to come. Though to some fans it was a criticism, Jeffrey Dean Morgan's shamelessly nasty ubervillain totally stole the show away from Rick and co. last season and this is a welcome reminder that Negan is still going to be at his evil-doing, trash-talking best this season, too. The scene also raises the question of what exactly's going on here. Negan seems pretty confident that Gabriel is the one in danger and not him. But aren't the both of them trapped and surrounded by zombies? Ezekiel's Such A Cool Dude Behind Negan, of course, Khary Payton's King Ezekiel was the other great addition to The Walking Dead introduced last season. The wise leader of the Kingdom was wasted for most of the run, though, so it's awesome to see him having some cool moments in the new trailer. First up, one clip sees Ezekiel and his faithful adviser Jerry (Cooper Andrews) looking like they're about to charge into some dangerous face-off. "Thank you, your Majesty," says Jerry. "For what?" asks Ezekiel. "For being such a cool dude," Jerry replies. You're not wrong, Jerry. Later on in the trailer, we see Ezekiel proving just how much of a cool dude he really is by leading his subjects into battle, armed with, in one shot, a sword and later on a machine gun. And let's not forget the cameo from his pet tiger Shiva. When she looks like she's about to get bitey, Ezekiel tells someone: "Trust the king." Maggie The Leader Maggie has had a tough time of it lately, to say the least, but somehow, she didn't let Glenn's death and her pregnancy hold her back and she's only grown stronger. It got to the point at the end of the season where it was clear that she was the true leader of Hilltop, as opposed to that cowardly creep Gregory, and from the trailer, it looks like Maggie's evolution into leader will only continue on in season 8. "I've been fighting since the farm," she tells what looks to be Rick at one point. "Can't stop now." This is a great reminder of how far Maggie - and the whole show, frankly - has come since the days on Hershel's farm back in season 2. Later on, she's seen giving a rousing speech to what's likely, though they're not seen, her supporters from Hilltop. "We need to keep our faith in each other," Maggie warns her people. "If we can hold on to that with everything we have, the future is ours. The world is ours." She's clearly been taking pointers from Rick... Rick's Speech Speaking of which, Rick isn't to be outdone by Maggie in the speech department this season and also has his own bit of rhetoric to get the troops pumped for the fight. The backbone of the trailer, Rick's speech is played over the top of clips in which the assembled communities are seen preparing to break out into all-out war with Negan and his men. Just the sort of time, then, for them to need some morale-boosting. Thankfully, Rick's got them covered: "When I first met him, Jesus said my world was going to get a whole lot bigger. Well, we've found that world. We found each other. That bigger world is ours by right. Those who use and take and kill, we end them. With everything we've beaten, everything we've endured, everything we've risen above, everything we've become... No matter what comes next, we've won. We've already won!" It's an awesome speech, with some interesting thematic links with Maggie's. It looks like the gang all-round are sick of being lorded over by either ravenous zombies or wannabe dictators. The world is theirs, Rick and the others have realized, and they want to take it back. Carol And Morgan Are Back In Action Most of The Walking Dead season 7 kept Carol out of the action, due to her taking up self-imposed isolation in the Kingdom. Despite previously not wanting to fight again, Carol is seen tooling up like old times in the trailer for season 8. Fans love Carol because she still retains her motherly instincts even when she's in badass mode, and one moment in the trailer shows that off brilliantly. When about to fire off a shotgun, she tells a nearby young boy to "cover your ears." For us, the best part of this is the resigned look on her face as she goes to shoot, as if to say: "OK, here we go again..." Another character who'd decided to take a vow of pacifism and hang out at the Kingdom was Morgan, but it's a given that he'll also have to return to his previous violent ways this year. After starting to kill again at the end of season 7, Morgan looks to have unleashed his inner fury. "I don't die," he promises. We hope this isn't a bit of ironic foreshadowing and just a show of his confidence in his fighting skills. There's even a brief snippet in the trailer of Morgan lashing out at Jesus. What's going on here, though? Will the pair have a full-on fight, or this just a simple misunderstanding that's quickly calmed down? Look, Daryl's Being Awesome! If you haven't gathered by now, what's great about this trailer is that it promises that all of our heroes will each have some badass moments in the episodes to come. Those we haven't mentioned include Michonne, Carl, Rosita and others. The guy who will always be our favourite to see doing cool stuff, though, is Daryl. Norman Reedus' breakout star didn't have the strongest arc last season, what with being incarcerated by Negan for a lot of the run, but now he's back and out for vengeance this year. Armed with his crossbow and reunited with his motorcycle, it looks like the Daryl we know and love again. In probably his best bit in the trailer, Daryl rides past and sets off explosions. With one pull of the trigger, fire erupts behind him and he drives off, with a satisfied half-smile on his face. The whole cast of The Expendables have nothing on this guy. Have Bruce Willis, Sly Stallone and the others survived a zombie apocalypse? No, we didn't think so. Different Flavoured Walkers The show is called The Walking Dead and we'd be disappointed if there wasn't any zombie action to ogle at in the trailer as well as the more character-led moments. Thankfully, the season 8 teaser delivers, with several new and nifty walkers showing up. There are disembodied screaming zombie heads, metal-armoured walkers (as conceived by turncoat Eugene for Negan's use) and also the handsome fella pictured above with the grotesque disfigurements and burns all down his left side. Nowadays, The Walking Dead has evolved past the simple threat of "aargh! zombies are gonna eat us," but the whole zombie apocalypse angle is still the big draw of the show, so it's great to see that make-up and prosthetics master Greg Nicoreto and his team aren't resting on their laurels, even eight seasons in. Old Man Rick Awakes Now we come to the moment that's exploded the internet. At the end of the trailer, we're shown a walking stick and a vase of flowers in what looks to be a white, sunlit room, possibly in a hospital. It's then revealed that the patient lying in bed is Rick Grimes, now with greying hair and beard like he's taking grooming tips from Hugh Jackman in Logan. Naturally, this 'Old Man Rick' scene has got fans speculating. Due to its similarity to the opening scenes of the pilot episode - in which Rick woke up in hospital to find himself in a zombie apocalypse - many are worrying that The Walking Dead is going to pull that most hated of plot twists on us: "And it was all a dream..." But that can't be what's happening here, can it? Well, if you're a reader of Robert Kirkman's comic books, you probably have an idea of what this is echoing. In the comics, the "All Out War" arc ends with Negan and Rick engaging in a bitter standoff which culminates with Negan breaking his leg. The following arc, "A New Beginning," then jumped forwards two years and checked in on Rick, now using a cane to support his leg and sporting a more mature look. The only thing here is that the trailer is thought to contain only footage from the first half or so of the season, as filming is still currently underway. If it follows the comics narrative, The Walking Dead shouldn't reach the time jump until the end of the season, at least. Whatever's going on, at least we can rule out that it's all a dream. Well, at least, we think we can...