Robert Kirkman says Season 8 of THE WALKING DEAD Is An "All-Out War Story"

After an entire season of build-up, The Walking Dead is about to become an “all-out war story” that may finally “break” some of its characters. The Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman spoke to reporters about what to expect for the group in the upcoming Season 8, and also teased that “Old Man Rick” scene from the Comic-Con trailer.

At the Television Critics Association, Kirkman was asked about the upcoming season, which he labeled as an “all-out war story.” Kirkman commented on the tone that the show will carry in Season 8:

So in Season 8 we’re trying to do a more fast-paced season, a more action-packed season, really focusing on momentum, and we feel like over the first seven seasons we kind of set all of the characters into place, and now it’s time to break them to a certain extent.

Kirkman also addressed the old man Rick scene, although he was careful not to reveal too much. He said the intention of including the scene was to make fans question what it is and how it fits in the story. It had recently been confirmed by showrunner Scott Gimple that viewers will understand the meaning of the scene in the season 8 premiere.

There are a lot of theories about the scene, and the most popular theory happens to stem from events that took place in the comic book. In the source material, Rick’s leg was broken by Negan, and after a two-year time jump, the character was shown carrying a cane.

Kirkman appeared to take note of the similarity of the two scenes, and remarked that though it “doesn’t seem like we would be getting to that just yet,” fans will “just have to see.”

Season 8 of The Walking Dead premieres on AMC on October 22 at 9 p.m.