'The Walking Dead' Showrunner On When The Whisperers Will Show Up

If The Walking Dead TV series is to continue following its comic book source material, the villainous Whisperers group will come along after the All Out War adaptation concludes. Showrunner Scott Gimple, however, suggests the next batch of villains won't arrive any time soon, if ever.

Gimple was asked directly about whether or not the Whisperers, a group known for wearing the skin of the dead and walking among them, keeping their voices to a whisper to blend in, would arrive or be teased before Season Eight concludes. "I couldn't say that," Gimple told TVLine. He does, however, claim the next batch of villains are "absolutely on the menu."

"I just wouldn't necessarily say for this season or even exactly when," Gimple concludes.

Unlike Woodbury and the Saviors, the Whisperers don't have a singular location which they call home. Instead, they roam the apocalypse and claim to have their own territory among the reanimated and do not welcome trespassers. They have no rules, have ditched their pre-apocalyptic names, and live without bounds. They are eager to end anyone who will interfere with their less civilized ways of life.

Alpha, a character whose pre-apocalyptic name is never revealed, is the group's bald-headed female leader. In the comics, Alpha has a daughter named Lydia who has a relationship with Carl and elected stay at the Hilltop with him against her mother's wishes but is ultimately handed over in a hostage exchange under Maggie and Alpha's orders. Despite Carl being written out of the live-action adaptation, the AMC show has plans to adapt stories involving his character in the comics. The Whisperer leader believes Rick and Maggie's attempts to rebuild civilization are a "shrine to a long dead world."

There is no word of casting for Alpha, Lydia, or any of the other Whisperer characters for the AMC show just yet.

The Walking Dead returns for the second half of its eighth season on February 25, 2018. Fear the Walking Dead will debut its fourth season after The Walking Dead concludes its eighth, at 10 pm ET on April 15. For complete coverage and insider info all year long, follow @BrandonDavisBD on Twitter.