The Walking Dead Season 8 is currently in its midseason break, but Andrew Lincoln is already hyping fans about what they should expect next.
New Beginning
The first half of Season 8 was game-changing. First, Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) and his band of survivors went to war against Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan). Then, while the team heroes of the series were trying to bring everyone to safety, Carl (Chandler Riggs) sacrificed himself to face Negan and his crew, only to reveal that his death sentence has been handed out a few episodes ago. Before crossing to safety, Carl was bitten by a zombie and, just like that, his story was over.
Carl's death in the television series marks its departure from the original comic books (in which Carl lived a long life and even had a relationship with a girl from a different tribe). To Lincoln, whatever is coming next will be exciting for fans.
From now on, the television series will be taking risks and telling its own story.
"I think, well, why not?" Lincoln said. "We're eight years, into a big story and I think if there is a future game — which I know that there is — they're going to have to take some big swings and change things up. Loosening and untethering us from a lot of the story in the comic is one really interesting way of moving the story forward, and perhaps we can look at a bigger story outside of the one that we've been focusing on for eight years — which could be incredibly satisfying for Rick's journey, and the characters that are around Rick, but also for the audience."
Moreover, because a major character from both the TV series and the comic books has been killed, Lincoln warned that no one is safe from now on.
"[T]his is uncharted waters for the show," he warned about the future of the show. "I think it made, certainly for me, a much more challenging and more dangerous back eight [episodes]. I think what they're having to do is shake it up, in a profound new way."
Final Moments
The remaining half of The Walking Dead Season 8 will feature the death of Carl who, while saving a stranded survivor, was bitten by a walker. Riggs, who plays the role, said that fans should definitely tune in during the upcoming midseason premiere because it will feature the character's final moments.
Moreover, the actor hinted that Carl's death will not only have an emotional tug but will also affect how Rick will deal with Negan.
" It's just a complete 180 and kind of put Rick in this affair of wanting to kill Negan constantly," Riggs shared. "And it's really cool to see a different side of it and see Carl trying to influence him in the other direction.
The Walking Dead Season 8 Episode 9 will air on Feb. 25 on Fox. The series has already been renewed to Season 9.
