Robert Kirkman Promises Awesome Walking Dead Season 7 Premiere

It's no secret that fans reacted to The Walking Dead's season six finale and its cliffhanger in all sorts of ways. Many of those are forms which writers and showrunners would never prefer but they are all standing by the choice to not reveal who Negan killed.

A new issue of The Walking Dead comic hit shelves today and in its Letter Hacks section, the series writer and creator Robert Kirkman took a moment to address the avid fanbase.

Here's what Kirkman had to say:

Okay, the season 6 finale has certainly caused a fervor online. EVERYONE IS TALKING ABOUT IT. Some people love it. Some people are indifferent. Some people HATE it. We weren't trying to game the audience, we weren't trying to FORCE you to come back for season 7.... we hope you were always pllaning on doing that and still plan on doing that.

We did want you talk. And talk you are.

The speculation, the frustration, the possibilities, the theories... honestly, in my mind... that stuff is FUN. I honestly feel like that's something fun for the fans to do during the break. Was it Spencer? Could it have been Morgan? What about Carol? Did Negan kill Jesus?! (Note, none of them were there... I'm not giving ANYTHING away.) I know people are angry over this, but that wasn't our intent. The idea was that after 6 seasons of the show, we wanted to stay on your mind and give you somethin to talk about.

And think of it this way... a character you love and are going to miss is DEAD, and we gave you a few extra months to hope, to not grieve. Is there uncertainty? Yes. But that was kind of the idea.

But seriously. Everyone on TWD team wanted to do something cool. We wanted to do something different and we did it to change things up, get people excited and keep this show on your mind.

For some of you, that effort backfired and you're angry. And for that I'm sorry. The only thing I can PROMISE you is that the season 7 premiere is going to be awesome. And when viewed as a two-part episode (the same way EVERY SEASON of Star Trek: The Next Generation ended with the first half of a two-part episode that was a cliffhanger...), it's going to be a pretty awesome ride. And every minute of the season 6 finale was important and was setting something up that you probably won't see coming.

It's a cool episode... and remember... there's a LOT more for Negan to do. Be afraid... be very afraid. And excited!

The Walking Dead began filming its seventh season earlier this week so the majority of its season is likely written. Whoever got the bat is likely getting it as you read this post.

The Walking Dead #154 is on shelves now and the TV series will return for its seventh season in October.