The wait for the highly anticipated "The Walking Dead" season 8 continues, but a lot of details about it are already circulating online. Showrunner Scott Gimple even gave a definitive answer as to how long the war between Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) and Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) will last.
The past seventh season was an intense one, with the introduction of one of the more ruthless villains the show has seen so far. Negan brought a huge amount of brutality to the story that led to the loss of some well-loved characters' lives. Although he caused a lot of trouble, he also arguably breathed new life into the series.
While it was exciting to witness the comic's "All Out War" storyline finally coming to life, it was pretty unclear how long Rick's fight against Negan would last. Fortunately, showrunner Gimple gave a definitive answer to that certain question in a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly.
The creator revealed, "The war will absolutely be resolved by the end of season 8. Absolutely." This admission will surely inject fans with renewed hope, as producers will likely deliver an action-packed "The Walking Dead" season 8 with a fresh sense of direction.
However, it is unknown how the show is going to handle the timing and pacing of both the "All Out War" arc and the expected time-jump in the next installment. The "Old Man Rick" time jump, which will see the seasoned protagonist Rick in a hospital bed in an undetermined time in the future, remains to be seen.
Still, Negan, alive or dead, could not be the central villain forever. Currently, fans are preempting the introduction of a new threat seen in the comic books, the Whisperers. Asked whether the faction's female leader Alpha would be appearing in the season eight, Gimple simply responded, "I'm going to give you a full no-comment on that."
"The Walking Dead" season 8 is confirmed to air on Sunday, Oct. 22, at 9 p.m. EDT on AMC.
