Season Nine Trailer

[bassman]

Andrew Lincoln has also confirmed that this is in fact his final season with the show.... “This will be my last season playing the part of Rick Grimes. I love this show. It means everything to me. I love the people who make this show. I’m particularly fond of the people who watch this show.”

[JDP]

Wow! Major spoiler confirmed!

[beat_truck]

It actually looks better than I expected. They probably showed all the good stuff and the rest will be the filler we are used to.

[Moon Knight]

First eight are going to be very eventful. I’m guessing first few will be dealing with the groups inner conflict from last season which will somehow lead into the exit of two of our main characters, followed by the introduction of a group of newcomers, then concluded with the Whisperers.

[MinionZombie]

There's a shot of boots - seemingly Rick's? - with blood dribbling on the ground. I'd really hope that Rick doesn't die, but instead heads off into the apocalypse to try and find something bigger - like head to D.C. in search of government bunkers or something. Has there been any official word on Lauren Cohan and Maggie? So much behind-the-scenes bullshit has really tainted this show for me, which is inexcuseable on AMC's part. The departure of Lincoln makes killing off Carl an even stupider idea now. Had Rick been still there leading it wouldn't have been too bad, but losing both Grimes boys? Come on. Anyway, that aside, the trailer does look good and restored some of the fandom in me that had been tainted by AMC's bullshit (penny pinching corporate executives with no creative bone in their body sticking their oar in?). The fallout from All Out War with fragile alliances and old beefs should provide some good drama, but aye, I do hope we don't get a load of filler. Angela Kang hasn't half been handed a wounded franchise, so I wish her the best of luck captaining this creaky ship. Ideally Gimple would have been replaced at the end of Season 7 and Carl would still be alive ... some other dimension has that version of events, the lucky gits. The deaf lady - interesting - we've not really seen disabilities in the apocalypse (I'd assume that many would succumb to the walkers - e.g. immobile, or can't move as fast, or needing medicines that are no longer available etc etc etc) ... obviously she's got a buddy to translate who no doubt plays the part of their ears, to put it bluntly, but that'll be interesting to see in the context of the ZA. Unless she's actually mute and just uses sign language to communicate, I'm assuming that the character is deaf as that seems most likely from the clip we saw. Glimpses at a few set pieces that should be fun - walking on the glass walkway, the piles of logs tumbling down etc. Anyway, I'm gonna have a few more views of that trailer and catch up on various panels (including TWD).

[Moon Knight]

That deaf character is Connie from the comic and the actress that plays her really is deaf. I personally love how they altered the character.

[MinionZombie]

That deaf character is Connie from the comic and the actress that plays her really is deaf. I personally love how they altered the character. I've struggled to keep tabs on the new characters that were introduced after All Out War in the comic, or a fair number of them anyway, as so many of them look kinda samey or their names aren't mentioned enough, or whatever, they're maybe not as well defined visually and characteristically as they once were. Of course, if also doesn't help that I'm only reading the trade paperbacks - so that's twice a year - therefore it's so easy to forget who the hell so many of these supporting players are. It's easier to follow such folks on a TV show. Connie doesn't ring a bell at the moment, was she deaf in the comic or have they added that element? Either way I'm quite intrigued to see what they do with her. Other things... Them stealing an old wagon from a museum (as it's now a valuable and practical object/tool for them) looks cool, and what that represents. Seems that Alexandria is still hanging in there and getting rebuilt (I'd wondered if, after the bombardment of the town in Season 8, they might ditch the location altogether to save cash or something and trim down on locations), and Negan is certainly in the cell that was built back in season six IIRC (the door opening is from another location, but was likely chosen as a good intro and feels jail-like). I noticed a shot of Rick with a wound seemingly on his side, during the shots on that bridge, so I'm assuming that will tie-in with the 'boots walking, blood dripping' shot I mentioned earlier. The best we can hope for is if Rick heads off on some sort of mission (thus remains alive) and then makes a triumphant return for the final episode(s) of the entire run ... but I doubt we'll be that lucky. Losing Rick would be a less bitter pill to swallow if Carl was still around to take over his mantle - it would have made total narrative and thematic sense to see that passage from one leader to the next, from one generation to the next ... but nope ... that all got fucked. Annnnnnnywaaaaaaaaay ... it'll be interesting to see some cross-mixing of characters from different groups, seeing new friendships, allegiances, relationships, and clashes brewing between disparate folks. Seems some Saviours are getting along quite well with their former enemies (the lady with the neck tattoo seemed happy in one particular shot). Even with talk of rebooting and reinvention and such, they need an end game in-mind. Continuing this show for another 8 seasons just isn't gonna happen I don't think, and I wouldn't really want to see it linger that long (because, let's be honest, how many of the early cast will bother hanging around that long?) Gimple kinda irritates with all that twitchy vagueness whenever he answers questions, trying to be all cryptic in his answers - if you can't say anything (as you so often can't, because of spoilers etc, like every other show and movie that turns up at Comic-Con) then just say so, cut the waffle. "Chapter 1", eh? Well let's hope it's a two chapter book, and chapter two is shorter than the first, because I don't want to see TWD driven into the ground as a dried-out husk with no long-running characters left. I would like to see, towards the end of the run, some more time jumps - for instance, I'd like to see Judith grow up to take the place in the narrative that Carl should have done. You could have episodes that show large passages of time, seeing the world and characters change before our eyes, moving the TWD world forward into the future inside the show (if that makes sense), and then leave it there perhaps. Also - am I the only one who did NOT hear whispering at the end amidst the walkers passing by? I tried listening closely but didn't hear any damn whispers, but they flat out said there was whispering during the panel discussion.

[facestabber]

The trailer did grab my interest. But being honest with myself Rick is and always has been the show for me. I could have found a way to accept his death if Carl was around. I don't know if I will continue to watch. Sad sad day. Minion the whisperers are there. I didn't hear it at first but once directed where I could hear it. It's gargles like a zombie as it speaks. Eugene hears it and reacts. Pretty chilling.

[MinionZombie]

Minion the whisperers are there. I didn't hear it at first but once directed where I could hear it. It's gargles like a zombie as it speaks. Eugene hears it and reacts. Pretty chilling. I'll have to have another listen, then. Apparently we're gonna get scenes where a lot of the key players are together on screen again, which we've not really had much of for a long time, so that'll be nice before we have our hearts ripped out with Rick's departure (however that takes place). I've been hearing "it's like a western" getting thrown around a lot from the creators and cast, so that's something to look forward to. With that in mind it'd be cool, maybe, to see - at some point - John Dorie rock up in true cowboy fashion. But that's just a random idea.

[Moon Knight]

I went back gave it another listen and yes in fact they do say “Where are they?” They make themeselves sound like the actual walkers. It did give me goosebumps. The way Eugene reacted and the music cue was also confirmation they heard something. Connie was not deaf in the comic. Her boyfriend was Kelly but in the show they genderswapped him and is now her sister. I like the change. I feel you on the characters in the books, MZ. Way too many and hard to follow. I think the show does a way better job on getting you to care about them.

[shootemindehead]

Looks interesting, but I just cannot see myself sticking with the show, once Rick leaves. He's the lynchpin holding everything together and there's nobody there to take his place. Every other character is a secondary, even Carol, who's probably my favourite TWD character. Can't even see the show lasting longer itself, once Rick is out of the picture. It's possible that it'll limp along until it dies. But, that'll be a poor way for the show to go out.

[MinionZombie]

I went back gave it another listen and yes in fact they do say “Where are they?” They make themeslebee sound like the actual walkers. It did give me goosebumps. The way Eugene reacted and the music cue was also confirmation they heard something. I feel you on the characters in the books, MZ. Way too many and hard to follow. I think the show does a way better job on getting you to care about them. 1) Ah! Now I hear it, knowing what was said. Yeah, that seems a pretty nifty way of doing it. I do hope they make some solid changes to The Whisperers storyline as I was never that fussed about it in the comics, but of course they will need to make certain big changes what with Carl not being around. Perhaps Enid could step in to his shoes in that plotline? 2) The show has the immediate benefits of a different format - so we get moving images in colour with sound. The people look a lot different in-person on-screen than they do as 2D images on the page in stark black and white, plus you get the actors' voices etc, plus the benefit of recognising the actor from other things to differentiate them from the cast. Certain supporting players could be name-checked in the scripts a bit more, mind you, as there are several ones whose name I can't recall (e.g. neck tattoo lady).

[facestabber]

Looks interesting, but I just cannot see myself sticking with the show, once Rick leaves. He's the lynchpin holding everything together and there's nobody there to take his place. Every other character is a secondary, even Carol, who's probably my favourite TWD character. Can't even see the show lasting longer itself, once Rick is out of the picture. It's possible that it'll limp along until it dies. But, that'll be a poor way for the show to go out. It's truly a crime the Gimple turned out to be a moron. Keep Carl alive, sign everyone through season 9 and close out the Grimes chapter and TWD. Then pump that money into Fear. Rick and Carl deserved so much more respect. I'm just gutted by the way everything has played out.

[Moon Knight]

Not happy Rick is leaving but of course I can surely hope they do change the Whisperer arc for the better. Carl’s Romeo and Juliet storyline that kicked off that arc was very lackluster and I’m sure TV fans would have shitted on that too. - - - Updated - - - It's truly a crime the Gimple turned out to be a moron. Keep Carl alive, sign everyone through season 9 and close out the Grimes chapter and TWD. Then pump that money into Fear. Rick and Carl deserved so much more respect. I'm just gutted by the way everything has played out. I can agree with that.

[JDP]

For those still wondering about where the "whisperers" can be heard in the clip: @5:17 to 5:25