Seven years have passed since The Walking Dead first shuffled onto the small screen, and in that time, AMC’s flagship has become a San Diego Comic-Con regular.
Ahead of the eighth season, The Walking Dead has officially booked its place in SDCC’s famous Hall H, where it’ll be joined by companion series Fear The Walking Dead on Friday, July 21st for a special showcase involving show-stopping trailers and major reveals. We Got This Covered will have all of the announcements for you as they happen, but it seems one pertinent detail has snuck online ahead of schedule: The Walking Dead season 8’s premiere date.
Unveiled alongside key art for the new season, AMC has now officially slated its post-apocalyptic zombie drama series for a return on October 22nd, which will also herald The Walking Dead‘s 100th episode – a historic feat by anyone’s standards. Embedded below, the artwork essentially draws the battle lines between Rick (Andrew Lincoln) and his sworn enemy, Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan). That bitter rivalry came to a head during the season 7 finale, when the people of Alexandra – Shiva included – rescued Rick and Carl at the eleventh hour.
Beyond that, there are also some new details relating to the show’s presence at SDCC. Due to commence at 12:15 pm PT on Friday, The Walking Dead panel will bring together a whole host of familiar faces, including the aforementioned Andrew Lincoln and Jeffrey Dean Morgan, the fan-favorite Norman Reedus, Lauren Cohan, Danai Gurira, Melissa McBride, Lennie James, Seth Gilliam, Alanna Masterson, Khary Payton and Chandler Riggs.
And that’s just the cast; AMC has announced that Gale Anne Hurd, Greg Nicotero, and David Alpert, Scott Gimple, and franchise mastermind Robert Kirkman will also be in attendance.
It’s official: The Walking Dead season 8 begins October 22nd on AMC. It’s shaping up to be a huge day for Kirkman’s zombie drama, too, after developer Telltale Games lifted the lid on the fourth and final season of its own adaptation.