AMC has dropped the first trailer for the The Walking Dead season 8 today at SDCC. After taunting us with the eventual war between Rick and Negan in the season 7 finale, I'm hoping the upcoming season will bring us a bit of closure on that front. And by closure, I obviously mean, one of the goriest, scariest and dramatic battles to ever take place on the show.
The season 7 closer, The First Day of the Rest of Your Life, finally saw Rick's gang at Alexandria, Maggie's crew at Hilltop and Zeke and the Kingdom unite against Negan. It was a tense finale that packed in loads of action we could have really used earlier in the season. So might showrunners steer season 8 in a similar direction? Let's break down the season 8 extended trailer and have a look see.
"You are about to shit your pants."
The preview opens with Negan, in typical Negan fashion, dropping bad language while trying to appear imposing and evil. To be honest, he doesn't have to try hard to make Gabriel - on his knees in Negan's trailer by the looks of it - fill his trousers, the dead are outside and sound pretty hungry. Might we be getting more of a Walker presence this time around?
Carol + Tara = new spinoff please!
Carol wearing protective Kingdom gear, Tara chillin' in her '80s shades, gnawing on a Red Vine. This pair are too cool for school. Now that Carol's back in the action - and not holed up in a cabin - here's hoping we'll see more of this duo fighting side-by-side.
All hail Jerry!
For all its faults - pacing, mainly - season 7 did introduce a load of new characters. An immediate favourite is one of King Ezekiel's men, known as Jerry. Adding a dash of humour that's seriously needed in this current dour stage of the series, he lets another classic Jerry line fly in the trailer. "Thank you your Majesty... for being such a cool dude."
Daryl channels the Terminator
He's has a rough ride over the last season has poor Daryl. Getting imprisoned can really smush the joy out of things. It's fun to see him back to his old self, blowing shit up while riding his motorbike, in the vein of the T-800.
More walkers!
"The damned are upon us!" cries Ezekiel. Yes, indeedy. While the majority of this lengthy trailer is dedicated to speeches, shots of human armies stomping forward to presumably steal guns and groceries (Isn't that what they all want?) and LOTS of firearms it's about time the show remembered its title. The Walking Dead. And it appears that they will become a threat once more.
Say hello to Old Man Rick
Now this *is* unusual. After the final title we see a cane resting against a wall, before it cuts to a white-haired Rick in bed. Is this a teaser for what's to come - i.e. proof that Rick survives the impending war - or proof that an old fan theory (Rick never woke from his coma and dreamt the whole thing) was correct after all? It's definitely an odd way to round out an already bizarre trailer so I wouldn't rule anything out. Showrunner Scott M. Gimple has already alluded to portraying *spoiler warning* the time jump that happens in The Walking Dead comics although the TV version may interpret it differently.
We'll find out more when The Walking Dead returns to our screens on October 22.
Images: AMC
