The Walking Dead is the AMC Network’s premier cash cow. It has tremendous TRP ratings and is almost always critically acclaimed each season. Barring the last season which was exceptionally polarizing, The Walking Dead has been unanimously voted as one of the best TV Shows on Planet Earth. Can the showrunners of the show ensure Season 9 could restore the TV Series to its former glory?!?! We sure hope so. Presenting – Here’s everything you need to know about the Walking Dead Season 9.
1. Number of people are exiting as well as entering the show as the main cast
Chandler Riggs who plays Carl Grimes in the show has been an integral part and one of the core members of the series. He will be exiting the show after his character was killed off by Walker bite in the middle of Season 8. Morgan Jones is also going away, with his character becoming an official member of Fear The Walking Dead TV Show. Much of the original cast stays the same with the re-addition of heath back into the franchise.
2. A flurry of new faces is coming into the show
The Walking Dead will have a fresh take on things. Fantastic Beasts actor Dan Fogler is joining the cast as a character whose identity is currently kept under wraps. Eleanor Matsuura from Into the Badlands and Lauren Ridloff of Wonderstruck fame will also be joining the show as new characters.
3. Andrew Lincoln is leaving
Rick Grimes will soon follow the footsteps of his own son and leave the show for good. But when Carl left the show in a coffin, Rick will be passively leaving the show. The Civil War is about to begin between Maggie and the rest of the communities. This is when Rick will take his leave and leave the whole world of Walkers behind to become a nomad, never to return again.
4. The story till now
The story of the show has taken a turn for the worse. Alexandra, the Kingdom, and the Hilltop community are currently at loggerheads with the Saviours, who have declared all-out war against the other communities. Rick is the leader of Alexandria while Maggie is the leader of the Hilltop. Carol is now the personal advisor to King Ezekiel of The Kingdom. Negan has been caught in a trap. Or is he?
5. Enter the Whisperers
The Whisperers, believe it or not, are even more dangerous than the Saviours. At least the latter had a code – they would only enforce rules and laws so that humanity could have a way of life in the midst of an apocalypse. The Whisperers are believers in chaos and want humanity to go back to the dark ages. Heath’s mysterious departure is also connected to the Whisperers somehow. All of this would be explained in detail in Season 9 when the show shows us the Whisperers as the primary antagonists.
6. Behind the scenes re-shuffling
The officiators of the franchise are being targeted by the fan base for such atrocious forced departures of their favourite characters. Following the death of Carl Grimes, the fans asked Scott Gimple, the showrunner of TWD, to resign. But instead, he has been promoted to the position of Chief Content Officer for all Walking Dead shows. Angela Kang, the writer of the show, has been promoted to Scott Gimple’s previous position.
7. The trailer offers new trouble
The task of rebuilding civilization after the end of Saviours is a hefty one. Michonne is heard saying to Maggie that they need to make up rules as to how the communities should treat each other and what are the repercussions that happen if they don’t. The survivors of the war are not going to have it any easier.
8. The official poster
The poster for Walking Dead season 9 has been released and it shows Rick, Maggie, and group with the backdrop of Capitol Hill. The poster shows Rick trying to rebuild what mankind had lost in the apocalypse – civilization. The previous Season 8 poster poked fun at other popular franchises like Game of Thrones and Star Wars. So it is possible that this poster also has hidden Easter eggs poking fun at other famous small and big screen franchises.
9. More Spinoff shows are coming
Trust me, whatever you have seen in The Walking Dead and Fear the Walking Dead are just the tip of the iceberg. There are other facets of the world of TWD that we still don’t know about. Greg Nicotero has confirmed that other shows set in the same universe are underway and could include a lot of other scenarios and plot elements like – the North American Frozen Walkers and the other unexplored parts of the world.
