The Walking Dead Season 6 To Include More Comics Characters And Backstory

Feeling like a zombie in The Walking Dead's off-season? That's okay. Me too. On the bright side, San Diego Comic Con is this week which probably means season six trailer and, on top of that, the folks involved with the show are chatting it up and spilling some new details.

Showrunner Scott M. Gimple recently opened up a bit about what we can expect when The Walking Dead returns. First of all: new characters on TV stemming from the comics. We know we're getting the Alexandria supply runner straight outta the comics, Heath, played by Straight Outta Compton star Corey Hawkins, but according to Gimple we'll be meeting more comic book originals. "There are other people that we're going to see throughout the season from the comics, and I'm excited for people to see it, but I don't want to tell them now," Gimple told EW. "I think a few minor remixes, but some direct stuff from the comic as well, as far as these characters go."

"A few minor remixes," you say, Mr. Gimple? Perhaps this supports my wild theory of Morgan Jones being TV's version of Paul "Jesus" Monroe and Morales returning to reveal other communities much like Jesus did in the comics. I stand by that theory and hope to see it happen! Bring back Morales!

Gimple also teased something else about season six which is very interesting for both comic and television series fans. "I think there's a really cool aspect to the first half of the season that serves almost as a prequel to some direct comic stuff in the second half of the season," he explained. "I think there's a way that Robert [Kirkman] did some of the story that we're reaching that had a real past to it, where people are referring to some things in the past in the comic. And we're able to portray some of that backstory in some ways that you didn't get to see in the comic."

What does this mean? Here's my educated guess: Alexander Davidson and the two others banished from Alexandria. In the comics, what we learn about Alexandria is similar to what we learned in the back half of season five. Alexander Davidson helped found the Alexandria Safe-Zone only to be banished by it's leader for his repulsive actions which is as good as being dead. We never got much more than this in the comics, so perhaps Gimple is referring to some of the Alexandria backstory opportunities which are too far gone in the comics, by now.

My initial thought wasn't Davidson. It was the DC Scavengers. The problem with that is they aren't a prequel. Season five left off with Rick shooting Pete Anderson which in the comics lead to the Scavengers ambitiously trying to storm the gates of the Safe-Zone only to have their hopes and lives shot down. The popular theory is the Wolves are the beefed-up-for-TV version of the DC Scavengers but maybe the backstory Gimple is referring to is that of the Saviors and Negan. Perhaps the Wolves story line is the Saviors' TV prequel and the DC Scavengers will come and go as they did in the comics.

One thing is for sure: we'll find out when The Walking Dead returns in October. Be sure to stay tuned to ComicBook.com this week for more Walking Dead info, though! The Walking Dead's San Diego Comic Con panel is this Friday and we'll be there to deliver all the zombified details straight to you!