The Walking Dead: Andrew Lincoln Teases A Completely Different Rick & Show

The back half of The Walking Dead Season 7 will be drastically different from the brutal first eight which rounded out 2016.

Showrunner Scott Gimple teased as much in an exclusive interview with ComicBook.com following the violent midseason finale.

“I will say 7B’s vibe is very different from 7A’s vibe. The ending of 7B is very different than the beginning of 7A,” Gimple said. “Just the vibe in 7B, I was just talking about it with Andy [Lincoln] last night. It’s just a very, very different half season than the half season that preceded it. Even with structure, what we’re doing right now with the episodes and seeing where everyone is at, the structure is very, very different than the back half. There’s a lot more variety to the structure.”

That conversation with Andrew Lincoln may have included Lincoln’s celebration over the Season 7 finale script, who has now gone further to explain how drastically the back half of Season 7 will be from its start.

“It’s probably the opposite of what you just witnessed,” Lincoln said. “Certainly from Rick’s point of view. You see a man in action again with some of the members of his closest family.”

“There’s a lot more levity, if you can believe that, than you’ve ever seen before in Mr. Grimes,” Lincoln said. “There’s sort of a freedom in him, a feeling that comes from losing everything, and also the thrill of the fight. It’s the thrill of the fight again. He’s back in. All I’m saying is that the band is back together.”

Not only is the band back together but Rick will be meeting the Kingdom and King Ezekiel when the AMC series returns. It’s the beginning of Rick’s rallying of Alexandria, the Hilltop, and the Kingdom to take on Negan and the Saviors — something fans have been eager to see since Glenn and Abraham lost their heads.

“There are several episodes that I loved being involved in and it certainly feels very much more like a show that I knew and recognized in the back eight,” Lincoln said. “I loved the episodes that I was in.”

MORE WALKING DEAD:

Andrew Lincoln’s Epic Reaction To Season 7 Finale / New Season 7B Key Art / Violent Takes Were Removed From Midseason Finale / Best Moments of 2016 / Negan Featured in #162 Preview / Five Worst Storylines / Who Will Be The Next Major Death? / AMC Stock Takes Hit With TWD Ratings Drops

The Walking Dead returns for the rest of its seventh season on February 12, 2017. For complete coverage and insider info all season long, follow @BrandonDavisBD on Twitter.

(via EW)