Season 9 is going to bring a lot of change to AMC’s The Walking Dead, and according to the new showrunner, Angela Kang, one of those changes will be a time jump.
When the first look into season 8 was revealed at San Diego Comic Con in 2017, a shot of Rick Grimes as an old man had fans speculating that the season would be jumping forward in time. That didn’t end up happening, but it appears that for the upcoming ninth season, a time jump is officially going to occur.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the zombie drama’s new showrunner, Angela Kang, told audiences at the Kickass Women of AMC panel on Wednesday that the new season would be moving forward in the timeline. Kang explained, “We’re playing with time in the season, so we get to jump forward in the story.”
Obviously, the most pressing concern on fans’ minds these days is the reported departure of Lauren Cohan (Maggie Rhee) and Andrew Lincoln (Rick Grimes), which Kang did not comment on, but this does give us a bit of an idea how the show will move forward without those characters. As the Robert Kirkman-penned comic book also featured a two year time jump after the “All Out War” arc, it stands to reason that the show will likely follow a similar storyline.
Kang also commented on her vision for the future of the show, saying that the team is, “working on a season that has a really fresh look and feel.” She went on to say, “We come in on some pretty fun stuff. I’m really focusing a lot on the core character relationships in the show that have kind of been long-lasting, as well as all of our wonderful series regulars.”
The Walking Dead has struggled finding its footing in recent seasons, with viewership down and larger numbers of fans opting out of the show. However, with the new leadership in Angela Kang and the renewed focus on the core character relationships, season 9 could end up being one of the strongest we’ve seen from the show in some time. The Walking Dead doesn’t have a premiere date yet, but it will likely return to AMC in the fall of 2018.