Danai Gurira Says The Walking Dead Tops Itself With Season 6

Just when you thought it couldn't get any better, Danai Gurira who plays Michonne on The Walking Dead, says season 6 of the zombie smash hit will outdo itself, once again.

"The thing that I find so thrilling about being a part of this show is that it does continually top itself and really amaze us as participants, and there is no exception to that rule when it comes to Season 6," Gurira told IGN. "It is really topping itself, and it is really going to some exciting, unimaginable places that are just going to be really thrilling for an audience and really unexpected, and completely unpredictable. It's definitely the year of years to even catch a glimpse of the work we do."

We already know the season six premiere involved more zombies than any previous episode of the series, so naturally one would assume the theme of season 6A would be getting back to the threat of zombies. However, Gurira couldn't pick a word to summarize the theme of the sixth season's first half, saying "Really I'd have to look at the whole, I'd have to consult with my boss [laughs] but I will say it's a thrilling, unpredictable ride, and goes into massive moments of really amazing, exciting, unpredictable things, and also really deep moments of character depth and development and heartbreaking, gut-wrenching stuff. It really is an unpredictable ride on both a macro and micro thrill ride."

Gurira also elaborated a bit on we can expect to see when we find Michonne at the start of season six. "In the Coda episode she took it back down, and she took it back down because it had been used in a way that she couldn't justify," Gurira explained. "If she's not the one in this control of this very powerful weapon, it could land in the wrong hands. Also the world that she's in is not one where she has the liberty she was hoping to have of exploring not being equipped with a lethal weapon at all times, exploring being in a society -- it's just not the world she's in, and she really accepts that at the end of Season 5 and puts that thing back on her back. It really is a question now of how she navigates that dualism of the desire to function in a normal society -- or in a society as normal as possible [laughs] -- and to have a community that thrives, and the understanding that she is a warrior. She has responsibilities therein because that's a powerful role to have in this world, and it's the one to which much is given and much is expected. We expect Michonne to stand up for those who need it and to be there and to be a part of the war that rages in this world of the apocalypse. She has to navigate that, and that's kind of the moment she's stepping into when we enter Season 6."

Gurira is giving away a chance to join her at the season six premiere by raffling off entries with donations to a good cause through her charity, the Almasi Arts Alliance.

We'll learn more about The Walking Dead's sixth season soon, as it is set to premiere October 11 at 9 PM EST on AMC. Things are getting a bit more clear as we get closer, though, seeing as earlier today Tom Payne was announced to be playing Jesus this season!