As the show has done in previous years, The Walking Dead announced its next season premiere date during the Comic-Con panel. Season nine will introduce new showrunner Angela Kang and a new creative direction that also includes the exit of two major characters.
During the trailer for season 9, it was announced that The Walking Dead will return on October 7, 2018. But that’s just one snippet of information given in the nearly 6-minute trailer.
The season begins with a time jump, similar to how the comic continued after Negan was defeated and almost killed. Maggie’s baby is already a few months old, they are rebuilding and growing food, and things are looking good. Rick visits the Sanctuary to bring them into a shared network of communities in peace. Of course, there are still gross walkers milling about.
But, it’s not without conflict as Maggie reminds Rick that he said one day she’d be the one to follow, i.e. the one in charge, and she’s ready to take that on. Despite the goal of communal harmony there’s still a lot of bad blood, which means they have to set up rules and some kind of governing system to enforce those rules. This is all interspersed with herds of Walkers, a raging river under a broken bridge, what looks like a man being tied to boards, and a hovering helicopter.
Andrew Lincoln and Lauren Cohan, who play Rick and Maggie, are both set to leave the show this year, but their departures were not evident in the trailer. Rumors have been circulating that Norman Reedus is negotiating a hike in salary to become the show’s new lead. During Comic-Con, he debunked the rumors and suggested that no particular cast member was becoming a more dominate lead following Lincoln’s departure.
The trailer also introduced a few new characters, included those played by Dan Fogler (Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them) and Eleanor Matsuura (Into the Badlands).