SDCC 2022: THE WALKING DEAD Bids Farewell to Comic Con

Noetta Harjo

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The Walking Dead swan song has begun as the cast and crew took the stage for the final time at San Diego Comic Con. There was laughter, gasps, tears, cheers and of course a trailer. And a surprise visit from some old friends. Things got emotional as TWD finally says farewell to SDCC.

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Chris Hardwick moderates the final TWD panel introducing, for the last time, Scott M. Gimple, Angela Kang, Greg Nicotero, Norman Reedus, Melissa McBride, Josh McDermitt, Ross Marquand, Seth Gilliam, Lauren Ridloff, Cailey Fleming and Michael James Shaw.

Here are the highlights:

Overall there was a sense of gratitdude from all of the cast, especially to the fans. The fans made the show what it is. Reedus says the show just didn’t belong to the cast and crew, it belongs to the fans as well. There was a lot of reminiscing about past SDCC panel. In particular, the time Andrew Lincoln tried to prank Reedus by blowing glitter in his face. The prank backfired and the glitter ended up in Lincoln’s beard.

Kang stated that in the third part of the final season, our people, Team Family, are in a heavy conflict with the Commonwealth. These last eight episodes are about bringing the gang back together with their goal in mind to finish. Expect some big twists and turns.

Nicotero directed the finale and definitely felt the weight of the expectations from the fans. He knew they had an obligation to the fans to end the show in the best way they could.

Reedus wanted to cry and make out with everyone in Hall H at the same time.  McBride couldn’t even say much because she kept crying. McDermitt, sporting his naturally blonde hair, says he did not understand why Gimple changed Eugene’s hair color from blond to brunette. 

Marquand and Gilliam talked about how they were huge fans of the show before being cast. For Marquand, his first day was very warm and welcoming. Gilliam said he power watched four seasons in 48 hours to prepare for his first day of shooting. 

Ridloff was a kindergarten teacher before being cast and says sometimes she felt like she was still that teacher when dealing with the some of the cast. Hardwick mentioned that she is now a superhero to which Ridloff says she’s still waiting for someone to yell out ‘just kidding.’ She also loves interacting with the fans and will do so every time she gets a chance.

Fleming loved playing Judith and thanked the fans for their love and support. When asked if she felt like she was working, Fleming said she got to go to work and play with swords. She loved it. She also went to Disneyland after the show wrapped.

This was Shaw’s first in-person panel. He said his first day on set was really cold. But his last day … they wrapped around six in the morning and just watched the sun come up. He also said the walkers were some of the most tasty people on set.

Christian Serratos and Khary Peyton were originally scheduled to be on the panel, but couldn’t come. They both sent messages of love. 

The Hall H fans were given the opportunity to ask some questions. Most of them cried while trying to speak. Button Lady returned and asked about the wrap party. Gimple says the wrap party was lovely, with a lot of people crying,  Post production put together a video with one second of every episode and showed it at the wrap party. Kang says they hope to show that to the fandom at some point, but it would spoil some things if they showed it now.

RELATED: Check out all of GGA’s Coverage of The Walking Dead Universe

The actors talked about their final scenes, their favorite moments, and what they will miss most about being a part of The Walking Dead.  On Marquand’s last day, production set off confetti canons. He said they were in such a rush to wrap that they kind of forgot it was the last day. Gilliam says he doesn’t know if he was there or not. Marquand started scrambling, saying he meant a collective “we.” Nicotero says not everyone wrapped at the same time. He was grateful to be there for everyone’s final shot.

Fleming’s favorite scene was Judith’s first walker kill. Ridloff liked the scenes with Daryl and Dog. Gilliam and Marquand loved their episode with Robert Patrick. Marquand and McDermitt also mentioned the Line Up when they first meet Negan as one of their favorites. McBride’s favorite scenes were little moments caught on camera and mentioned Scott Wilson reading his bible at the prison. Reedus’ favorite was the Terminus explosion scene when Daryl runs up to hug Carol. He and Kang also liked when Rick calls Daryl his brother for the first time. Hardwick’s was when Sophia (Madison Lintz) exits the barn in season two. 

So many memories, so many great, heartwrenching scenes. The cast agrees that they will all miss the connections they had with each other and every actor who appeared on the show. And of course, they will miss the hijinks. 

One fan asked if they are going to ever make The Walking Dead movIe. Gimple said bother him about it later. Another fan asked if they are going to get any closure to Rick Grimes’ story. Again, Gimple said that will get to that later. 

Reedus wrapped it up saying it’s been an honor to be on this ride with the fans. The fandom of the show has change all of their lives in a million different ways, without the fans, they wouldn’t be there. What the fans feel for the cast, the cast feels for the fans. TWD a once in a lifetime thing. The fans mean a lot to them all.

Then it happened …

https://www.instagram.com/p/CgVUh6ZvIJw/?hl=en

Hardwick demanded an answer about Rick’s movies. Gimple, of course, could not give him an answer. But said there were two people backstage who could. That’s when Andrew Lincoln and Danai Gurira emerged. They felt they owed it to the fans to wrap up Richonne’s story. Lincoln and Gurira met with Gimple and decided that a six episode series would be the best way to tell that story. Lincoln and Gurira made a date to return to SDCC in 2023.

That’s it for The Walking Dead. Some of the characters will return, but it won’t be the same. Thank you to the cast and crew of TWDfor 12 years of amazing stories. And thank you for allowing the fans to be a part of those stories. We will miss you all and can’t wait to see the next chapters of the TWD Universe. 

The Walking Dead returns to AMC on October 2. The first two episodes will be available the same night on AMC+. The finale will air November 20 and AMC is hosting a fan event in LA. Rick and Michonne return in 2023. Check out the poster for that series below. You can watch the first two part of The Walking Dead final season AMC+.

Rick and Michonne return in 2023

 

Noetta Harjo
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