The Walking Dead SDCC Panel Recap

The Walking Dead is taking over San Diego Comic Con’s biggest room for their annual Hall H panel.

After a trailer, Hardwick began questioning the panel, complete with showrunner Scott Gimple, producer Gale Anne Hurd, director Greg Nicotero, and almost the complete cast.

Hardwick opened up with questions.

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Will Rick have a power struggle with Morgan in the sixth season?

Gimple: It sure seems that way based on the trailer we just showed. I will say, this is a savvy audience that knows we sometimes play with the truth in trailers. It’s true but it’s just to maintain the experience for everybody. Rick absolutely is faced with challenges to the way he does things…At the end of season six he had everybody on board with him, except for the porch dick.

Will the Wolves play a big part in season 6?

Gimple: The Wolves will be a part of season 6, hopefully in a way that you don’t expect.

Do you think Rick misses the beard?

Lincoln: My wife doesn’t miss the beard. Ithink that was most of the most weird filming days in my life. I had to get in the shower naked in front of my crew but apparently you can only see two inches of my butt crack…I had to do that and I had to look at my face in the mirror. I had to look at my face in the mirror and I don’t enjoy. But yeah, I miss that beard and I’m going to grow it back as soon as possible.

Gimple: …The beard is a barometer to where Rick is at.

What’s the dynamic between Rick and Deanna going to be like?

Lincoln: I think there’s a genuine respect between the two leaders. A lot of the last three or four episodes you saw a man restraining his instict to lead. He realizes he’s amongst innocence of people who don’t have any experience out there…I had a zombie shower at the end when I blew his brains out and of course Pete came in, he slashes Reg, and I shot him.

Hardwick: But you didn’t just shoot him, it was an execution, and Deanna…

Lincoln: She said do it!

What do you think Michonne’s opinion is on Carol’s house wife disguise?

Gurira: I adora Carol…They’re both having tactics but they couldn’t be more different…She understands what Carol is doing is for the good of the group…But it’s just not the way Michonne wants to do things…She’s not going to get in a big tussle with Caorl about it…

What do you think Michonne’s journey was in the last season and that last thing with her and the katana?

It was really fascinating actually. She made that decision in season 4 when she deciddd I’m going to stop being this isolated characters, grabs two pets, and is going to venture out into the woods…

[Gurira also analyzed the trust issues Michonne developed through Terminus and her decision to come back into the world which was a terrifying thought for Michonne when she didn’t know what that meant. She ultimately says Michonne picked up the sword so people don’t use it for good. It is a “protective force” if she’s using it but not if other people are.]

Gimple: There will be a whole lot of flashbacks in the first half of this season. I’m working on an entire episode that is a flashback.

Steven, why didn’t you kill Nicholas?

Yeun: Glenn is a better person than me. I also said why did you not kill him It’s a very complex situation. Its layered in the sense that Glenn is seeing a version of himself in him…Glenn also sees in that moment that he has won. It serves no function in that moment to kill him. It’s not like he;s making him an example for others. It serves no purpose other than himself…For him it was a chance at hopefully having him be redeemed but I think it was mostly Glenn trying to save himself, as well. If he crosses that line, it’s kind of game over for him…

It’s Lennie James for Lennie James as a Walking Dead cast on a panel! What do you think Morgan was doing this whole time out there?

James: I think he was painting! No… I think we’ll find out this season what Morgan’s been doing. But one of the things he had been doign was looking for Rick and when finds him I think he wishes he hadn’t…Morgan and Rick have kind of a man-love that goes on. I think the fact that Morgan has gone to find Rick, Rick is the last person on the planet who knows Morgan…Morgan is aware of the effect that Rick has had on him and at the end of the season there’s going to be fallout.

Does Carl feel at home in Alexandria?

Riggs: Absoultely…I think he’s trying to start over and live life the way life is supposed to be lived.

How do you think Michonne would feel about Carl sneaking out of the gates?

Riggs: I think Carl sees Enid as another survivor. She’s the one person in that place that gets how it is outside the worlds. He can obviously relate to her and that’s why he enjoys going outside the walls with her. Obviously, being in Alexandria is very safe but I don’t know how they’d react.

Gurira: It’s probably better Michonne doesn’t know…She knows Carl is so smart and has this instinct and can relate to him as a freind…You can’t imprison him and say, “You can never leave these walls!”…She probably doesn’t want to know but wants to know at the same time.

If season 1 Carl had a chance to tell season 6 Carl some advice, what would it be?

Riggs: I don’t know really.

Nicotero: Shoot the walker in the swamp that killed Dale!

After Sasha’s breakdown last season what do you hope she finds in 6?

Healing. Restoration…She’s hit rock bottom. It’s been an honor for me to portray PTSD in honor of those who have suffered from it. That’s what you hope: you hope there’s light at the end of the tunnel. You hope to can find a reason to live again and not just live but thrive…Looking back on it, if she were to get to that healed place, she would look back on it and say, “I didn’t respond correctly.”

[She also revealed how she thinks the fallen characters would respond, indicating they think she’s changed and is wrong.]

Carol’s biggest challenge of hiding who she is to the Alexandria people?

…Keeping her cover.

What did Tyreese’s death mean to Carol?

McBride: Yes, she misses him. Every death fuels the fire…Everything is fueled by the loss of people…She can’t stand around and watch people die. She’s ready to pay the price, go to hell, who knows, to do what she can to help people.

Is that what keeps her going?

McBride: She’s not a cold blooded killer. She wants to keep going until she finds someone else she can put done.

Cudlitz, when do you think your defining moment came?

Cudlitz: I think his defining moment is yet to come. Thank you, goodnight. [Laughs] I want to just live in a world where Carol has cookies and flowers for everyone.

[The cast and producers joked about Cudlitz having the best lines, such as “Who’s Deanna!?” and “Rick knows every grain of said shit.”]

Is there anything special you do to get into character?

Reedus: A lot of Motorhead, a lot of coffee. I play CandyCrush a lot. I’m so into it, it’s ridiculous and I spend hundreds of dollars. If you guys send me lives on that, I can play forever. It’s cool.

What’s your favorite emoji?

Reedus: I like the red balloon. I use that a lot. Is that my fucking question right now? Everyone gets these deep questions and I get emojis?

I have a question for you! Which is the darkest season for Daryl in terms of his sanity and morals?

Reedus: Season? Oh, Jesus….It changes all the time. The first, I kind of found the character in the first scene that I was on…Then I started to trust this people…It all changes. Last year, when Morgan comes back with us and Rick is shooting a dude in the head…We had that scene, it was carol and I, where he said, “we’ll just take this town,” and I got there and he’s shooting a guy..I’m thinking it’s on, we’re taking the town!”

Yeun: [reading text from Cohan] I miss not being there with you all. I’m with my family right now but my other family is at this table and in this room. We may have said this before but everyone in this room is what makes every walker kill…Can you say something funny at the end?

Chandler, what was it like to get back on set?

It’s great to be back working on the show. I’ve been working on the show for most of my life! It’s all I’ve known for a while.

Who’s gonna be the next cast member from The Wire to make an appearance?

Gimple: We tried for someone this year and it didn’t work out. I’d say, we’re not through with that cast yet.

What’s the dynamic between Rick and Michonne?

Lincoln: My mom desperately wants Rick and Michonne to get together…

Button Lady: Thanks for naming a horse after me. Chandler, you had a very, very intense scene. I’m wondering if any of the actors helped or if you were in a closed set.

Riggs: They just say the lines I do it… [Laughs]

Where’s Daryl going?

Reedus: Level 275! He doesn’t like Alexandria at all…He wanted out and then he found a place that they could handle him and he thought that he could fit in…That might go crazy later…

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Before finishing, Greg Nicotero said that the premiere episode of The Walking Dead’s sixth season required more walkers than any episode ever before. One day, they had over 300 extras in walker make-up for the episode which Nicotero directed.

The panel concluded with a re-airing of the season 6 trailer.