The Walking Dead Season 8 will not premiere for several months, possibly longer if writers go on strike. Until then, fans are busy looking for information on what will happen when the TV show returns. Showrunner Scott Gimple spoke about the upcoming season and reminded viewers that the premiere would be the 100th episode, which is a huge milestone. He also discussed one big storytelling change that will happen when the series comes back.
Possible TWD spoilers might be ahead. Do not continue reading unless you want to know what could happen on the AMC TV show.
The Walking Dead 100th episode is a big milestone, as Scott Gimple noted at this year’s Paleyfest. Skybound , Robert Kirkman ‘s official TWD website, published an excerpt of what the showrunner had to say about it.
“Episode 801, the first episode of Season 8, is going to be the 100th episode. The first episode is, I think less about that we reached 100 episodes. It’s more about setting up the next 100.”
There are going to be some changes when the show returns to AMC , according to The Hollywood Reporter . It is going to be at a faster pace than what fans are used to. That can be a good thing since viewers have complained about “filler” and the slow pace of recent episodes.
“The turn of the story is really going to dictate the structure of the story and the speed of the story. The things that they are getting into demand a more kinetic narrative. The pace is accelerated by virtue of the things that they’re up to. Though I don’t want to say exactly, anybody who watches the show can extrapolate that they’re now into public conflict with the Saviors; the battle lines are drawn. There isn’t quite as much time to dig into anything but prosecuting the war.”
The Walking Dead showrunner revealed that there will be several episodes that have more characters in them. This is different from last season when everyone seemed to be separated.
“It’s just where the story is going to. That presents all sorts of narrative and production challenges. We’ve known we were going this way for a long while; in fact, doing season seven, I remember talking to [writer and exec producer] Angela Kang about the difference between the structure of seasons seven and eight before we started seven. There’s aspects to talking about season nine like that. We try to reinvent the show every eight episodes and I believe the differences between season seven and eight are going to be quite pronounced just by virtue of the narrative.”
Andrew Lincoln spoke to Entertainment Weekly , and he is excited about the Season 8 premiere. It seems every year, the actors say the same thing, but the TWD star insists that what is coming up next really is incredible.
“This is not hyperbole. This is not a cynical act to try and amp up enthusiasm for the hundredth episode in Season 8, but I am genuinely more excited about this next episode and the following 15 than I’ve ever been in my life. I can’t wait to get back.”
During the Season 7 finale, Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) and the Saviors went to Alexandria. It was a shock to Rick Grimes that Eugene Porter (Josh McDermitt) seemed to have switched sides. Negan planned on using Sasha Williams (Sonequa Martin-Green) as bait. However, she wanted to try to bring him down one final time. Using Eugene’s suicide pills to end her life, she turned in a walker and tried to bite Negan’s arm. Then, both sides began shooting. By the end of the episode, both sides were planning for war.
When Scott Gimple was asked if the war would last throughout Season 8, he would not say. He also wouldn’t reveal if there will be a time jump like there was in The Walking Dead comics.
What do you think of what Scott Gimple and Andrew Lincoln had to say about The Walking Dead Season 8? Are you looking forward to episodes that are faster paced?
[Featured Image by Gene Page/AMC]