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016 | W W W. S C I FI N OW.CO.U K
THE WALKING DEAD SEASON NINE
WHAT DO WE KNOW?
Season Nine is going to be a momentous one for The Walking Dead fans. With Andrew Lincoln leaving the
show, and Carl (Chandler Riggs) already gone, the show is seeing a real changing of the guard. Now that the
poster has landed, we can start looking at what we can expect from Rick’s last run...THERE WILL BE A TIME JUMP
The All Out War arc that Season Eight focused
on was followed by a two-year time jump in the
comics, and the series looks like it will follow
suit. New showrunner Angela Kang seemed to
confi rm the time jump when she referenced A New
Beginning – the comic’s time jump arc – in an
Instagram post. But the poster also confi rms that at
least some time has passed since the Season Eight
fi nale – Maggie’s baby bump has gone and her
hair is a lot longer. Rick’s beard is also noticeably
greyer than it has been.RICK IS ON HIS WAY OUT
Whether he lives or dies remains to be seen, and
his departure date hasn’t yet been confi rmed,
although rumours are that it will be during the
fi rst half of the season. His posture in the poster –
facing in a different direction to the others – could
indicate that he leaves. But this is The Walking
Dead – when does anyone ever just leave? It
has also been reported that Jon Bernthal will be
returning for one episode, no doubt in a fl ashback
or hallucination surrounding Rick’s departure, as a
nice reminder of where the show began.THEY’RE HEADING FOR DC
The poster shows the ruined Capitol building from
Washington DC, suggesting that either that’s where
the characters will fi nd themselves in Season Nine,
or that’s where they will be heading. The city has
featured in the comics, but has never been a major
location in the story. So will Season Nine divert
sharply from the comic books?
MAGGIE IS BACK – BUT NOT
QUITE FULL-TIME
Actress Lauren Cohan has a new TV show on
ABC, and will be shooting both her new show –
Whiskey Cavalier – and The Walking Dead at the
same time, meaning that she won’t be quite so
much of a regular in Season Nine. Morgan (Lennie
James) has departed too, and is now on sister
show Fear The Walking Dead. Siddiq (Avi Nash)
and Alden (Callan McAuliffe) have been bumped
up to regulars for Season Nine.THAT HELICOPTER IS BACK
The helicopter that hovered ominously over Season
Eight is back, and the poster indicates that it may
have connections to Washington. We still don’t
know whose helicopter it is, but they certainly have
connections to Jadis. Could it be linked to Georgie,
the business-suited character played by Jayne
Atkinson in one episode of Season Eight?