A bona fide pop culture sensation, The Walking Dead more than justifies its presence in Comic-Con’s Hall H, where the producers and cast showed off new footage, which you can watch at the bottom of this news story.
The team also talked a little bit about what we can expect next season, even if it wasn’t the “full transparency” that they promised. Yet they did their best to offer teases of what we can expect.
“Things are getting worse,” says comic creator and show co-executive producer Robert Kirkman. “It’s an escalation, the people are getting worse…” Everyone look surprised!
Freshly promoted show-runner Scott Gimple promised to deliver on ideas that stunned even him. “The things we did blew my mind,” he said of the new episodes. “It’s going to get insane.” So what have they learned amid all the zombie carnage? “We tweak things and collaborate,” says FX expert and producer/director Greg Nicotero. “There’s stuff we shot in the last two weeks that’s so much cooler than what we’ve done. We shot something 24 hours ago that is the coolest walker gag we’ve done.”
Asked why his character takes the crew back to the prison rather than taking over Woodbury, Andrew Lincoln demurred: “I’m not sure I can answer that because we answer it this season.” Still he would admit that Rick’s attitude has changed after Lori’s death and his realisation that he needs to be a better parent to Carl (Chandler Riggs). “His turning into a sociopath last season woke him up.”
By far the most fun to be had among the cast was when a fan asked about the chances of Rick and Danai Gurira’s Michonne getting together. Soon, the name “Richonne” was being banded about with comic abandon and even Norman Reedus was getting into the act, suggesting a three-way between Daryl, Rick and Michonne.
And just how would everyone deal with the zombie apocalypse now they have some experience? “I’d still have to say I’d kill myself,” says Kirkman. “Maybe jumping off a high building.”
Andrew Lincoln thinks he’s be useless, but that he’d have a line of defence. “Chandler Riggs is a beast now. His voice is an octave lower. I’d stand behind him.” Best answer? Norman Reedus: “I’d take over a hotel room, spray-paint myself silver and dance around watching South Park.”
Finally, we learned how the crew memorialises characters that have died. “We have a screening room in the studio,” says Nicotero. “And when someone dies on the show we put their portrait up on the wall. We call it the Grateful Dead.” “Actually, it should be the Hall Of Maim,” cracks Lincoln.
The Walking Dead returns to US screens on Sunday October 13. UK viewers will, as usual, see it the following week.