The world is counting down to The Walking Dead season 8 premiere. New York Comic Con was treated to an appearance by the producers and cast of the show as well as a sneak peak at the first episode of season 8.
On the panel were The Walking Dead creator/producer Robert Kirkman, producers Dave Alpert, Gale Ann Hurd, Greg Nicotero, stars Andrew Lincoln, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Melissa McBride, Lennie James, Austin Amelio, Katelyn Nacon, Tom Payne and Norman Reedus.
The biggest question was, will there ever be a The Walking Dead and Fear the Walking Dead crossover? This is not the first time Kirkman has heard that question. He stated, “We want these shows to have their own legs and tell the own stories and be their own thing. I think that we’ve finally gotten to a place with Fear the Walking Dead where it has its own identity, where we can play with some things.”
His first answer was “never!” Joking aside, he then said, “…there are two Walking Dead shows, I’m not going to name them, but there are two. There is one character that is going to go from one show, that I will not name, and appear in the other show, which I will not name.”
So what does this mean? Will we see a TWD character backstory play out on Fear TWD? Or will we get to see what happens to a Fear TWD character when they appear on TWD? Or maybe it’s something completely different than any ideas that fan theorists have put forth? Details will be revealed soon. Kirkman said, “This is a huge event in the world of The Walking Dead, we’re very excited. There’s going to be some more news on this front.”
The cast was very appreciative of the fans. Lincoln professed his love for the fans and thanked them for sticking with them for 100 episodes. The audience commanded him to dance…which he obliged. (swoon) That ended with Lincoln on the floor attempting to do the worm. They also talked about the glitter fight between Lincoln and Reedus. (Lincoln recently pranked Reedus during a EW cover shoot)
Jeffrey Dean Morgan was asked why Negan is so captivating. Morgan thinks Negan is funny. The audience said its because he’s sexy. Morgan went on to say that Robert wrote a guy who’s very charismatic, in a way that makes it hard for anyone to hate Negan…no mater what he does to them. Lincoln says he kind of hates Negan, but Morgan pointed out that Lincoln is really close to his face when they talk…hahaha!
Morgan mentioned that there will be little bits of Negan’s backstory in season 8. Negan’s backstory is available in the comic books now.
The crowd went wild for Melissa McBride. McBride says, in season 8, Carol is ready to fight, but that doesn’t mean that she won’t be baking something. What does that mean? Hmmmm. McBride also said that Carol has come to a point where she cares less what everyone thinks.
James says that his character, Morgan, is stuck between the need to protect those he cares about and going against his own code of ethics. Morgan needs to go to war in order to find peace. He said Morgan’s argument isn’t about survival. They know how to survive and found others who have survived. Now they have to learn how to live. And the war with Negan is about telling Negan that they don’t want to live his way.
Amelio who plays Dwight, says he respects “the ballsy-ness” of Dwight. He’s making some risky decisions about whose side he’s on. Dwight is the only one who is saying what he really thinks about Negan. He says he’d give Dwight a chance. Amelio also said it’s kind of hard working with Morgan because of how arrogant Negan is and Morgan is not. Morgan said they giggle a lot during filming.
Nacon plays Enid and this is her first Comic Con appearance. Nacon talked about Enid’s evolution. Enid had some walls put up when we first met her. Glenn, Maggie and Carl helped her break down those walls and gave her a new outlook. The JSS – Just Survive Somehow – now means something different for her. She wants to survive for those people who surround her and care for her.
Payne, who play Jesus, talked about the showdown between Morgan and Jesus in the season 8 trailer. He called the encounter playful and entertaining. He says he’s really excited for this season and for Jesus to be a part of the group. It gives him something to fight for.
Reedus says Daryl wants revenge this season. He likes that these are two big teams against each other and it’s all out crazy the entire way. He says Daryl is going a bit rogue this season. Hardwick mentioned Reedus’ other show Ride with Norman Reedus. Morgan will be a guest on the show this season along with Dave Chappelle.
The audience was very interactive, yelling out the answers they wanted to hear. And booing the questions and answers that they didn’t.
A fan asked if Daryl is still dealing with Glenn’s death (since he is the reason Glenn was killed)? Reedus wondered if he would be blamed for Glenn’s death. He says it’s something that will weighed on Daryl for a long time. He felt he deserved what he was getting. Then Dwight gave him a picture of Glenn and told him to fight for him.
Another fan asked Kirkman if he thought about how The Walking Dead would end. Kirkman said he knows what they are building to, but that’s not going to happen any time soon.
The last question was if Team Rick would be at a disadvantage because the three communities have never worked together before. Lincoln’s answer was that it took 100 episodes for Rick to come up with a good plan! Ha!
Nicotero announced that The Walking Dead has earned a place in history. They are donating prop items to the Smithsonian in a ceremony on Tuesday October. 10.
The Walking Dead season 8 will premiere on Sunday October 22 on AMC. Here is a sneak peek of the 100th episode!
News Editor, Senior Contributor, and Press Editor. Coordinate breaking news, trailers and press releases. I also contribute reviews, recaps and interviews. Creator of the Indigenerd Wire, a column dedicated to the Indigenous creatives in pop culture.
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