The Walking Dead always has a big presence at SDCC and this year was no exception.
An impressive booth and offsite activation were big hits as per usual, but the Hall H panel confirmed news that sent TWD fans abuzz: Andrew Lincoln confirmed he will be leaving the series after season 9. The trailer for the upcoming season that debuted at the panel shows signs of a civil war of sorts between the core characters (which was hinted at in the season 8 finale), but from everything we saw, that animosity is saved strictly for the small screen.
Hours before the panel, Dark Media Online had the opportunity to take part in a photo shoot with some of the cast and crew that gave a behind the scenes look inside how much this group of people genuinely care about one another.
Left to right: Gale Anne Hurd, Andrew Lincoln, Denise Huth, Norman Reedus, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Danai Gurira, Angela Kang, Lauren Cohan, Scott M. Gimple (and Carol Funko Pop! in his shirt pocket), and Greg Nicotero (Photo by Annie Thornton)
Friday is officially day 2.5 (if you include preview night) of San Diego Comic Con, and so an 8am event check in time was a bit of a challenge, but after years of attending SDCC, my body is used to getting next to no sleep for five days in July every year, so check in I did. I, along with a small group of press from around the world, were taken up to the roof of a beautiful hotel in downtown San Diego where we were lined up on one side of the pool with a blue carpet and FOX step and repeat backdrop on the other side.
Left to Right: Andrew Lincoln, Norman Reedus, Carol Funko Pop!, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Danai Gurira, and Lauren Cohan (Photo by Annie Thornton)
I was situated at the end of the press line, which gave me a view of the cast and crew in their cabana, waiting for the photo call to begin. I have had the privilege of seeing a lot of cast members of a lot of projects over the years, and often it is clear that the on camera chemistry doesn’t quite translate to the real world, so it was a real treat to see this cast and crew in deep discussion, holding hands, resting heads on one another’s shoulders, and genuinely enjoying each others company. We were the start of their extremely long press day and instead of quietly staring at phone screens solo (especially so early in the morning. Side note: Norman Reedus was amusingly also on team Why Are We Here So Early?), they spent the time together the way you’d expect a close family would over holiday break.
When you are a cast that loves one another, this is apparently how you do a prom pose. (Photo by Annie Thornton)
The cast and crew in attendance included Danai Gurira, Lauren Cohan, Andrew Lincoln, Norman Reedus, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Gale Anne Hurd, Angela Kang, Denise Huth, Greg Nicotero, and Scott M. Gimple. They are all incredibly charming, but the group photos at the end were priceless. For a dark show about surviving the zombie apocalypse and the terror of what those left living can turn into, these guys sure know how to keep it light and fun!
The Walking Dead returns for its ninth season on October 7, 2018 on AMC.
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