The Walking Dead: Season 8 Photos, Trailers, And Premiere Dates

The long The Walking Dead off-season has almost reached the half-way mark between the Season 7 finale and Season 8 premiere. What ended in April will pick back up in mid-October.

With All Out War on the horizon, fans of the hit AMC series are hungrier than ever for new content, showcasing the war between Rick Grimes and his surrounding communities against Negan and his savage Saviors squad. Luckily, the wait won’t be all that much longer for previews, photos, and cast interviews.

Season 8 of The Walking Dead will kick off with a major milestone: Episode 100. “I’m more excited, my friend,” Rick actor Andrew Lincoln told ComicBook.com. “I’m more excited about this season than ever and this is not – I’m not blowing smoke up anybody – this is so real. I am ready to go. I can’t wait. It’s going to be insane this season.”

AMC has a standard rollout plan for much of its The Walking Dead preview content and going into the eighth year of the show, it is easier than ever to predict what type of content will be distributed and when it will come out.

Photos/Art

Before anything else, The Walking Dead will release a small batch of photos previewing the upcoming eighth season. 

Likely dropping just before San Diego Comic Con kicks off, the first look into Rick and Negan’s worlds will come in the form of pictures but also in the form of key art. The day before San Diego Comic Con began in 2016, the AMC series released its key art images featuring each character on their knees at the mercy of Lucille and Negan.

This year, the All Out War theme will likely be present with the new images as the series replaces its grim and humbled theme with a rally cry from Alexandria. Each of the core characters will likely be featured in individual posters as well as a group shot to promote the upcoming 100th episode and Season 8 premiere.

With San Diego Comic Con kicking off on July 20, expect the first photos and key art earlier in the same week. 

Trailer

The Walking Dead‘s Season 8 trailer will arrive on July 21.

The AMC series will assemble its cast and crew in Hall H of the San Diego Convention Center, where they will debut the trailer to over 6,000 avid fans moments before releasing it online for the rest of the world to see. 

“I think, I mean, for as cool as the Tiger is, we all love Shiva, but I think what we’ve got to show here in Season 8 is going to trump everything that we’ve ever done on the show by far,” Aaron actor Ross Marquand said of the Season 8 trailer, comparing it to the epic reveal of Shiva the tiger in Season 7’s.

Luckily for the Season 8 trailer, it is not forced to preserve a “Who did Negan kill?” mystery and will have more freedom to show key characters. Whether or not it will top the preceding season’s first look is to be seen.

“I kind of hope not because there is stuff like this sequence that was shot last week that I don’t want the audience to know about until it happens in the show,” Jesus actor Tom Payne said. It’s a surprise and you’re like, ‘Whoa, that’s gonna happen!’ I don’t know, so I think the comic con trailer is a tough one because you don’t want to give away the cool stuff that’s coming. So, I think they’ve got a bit of a job on their hands cutting it together.”

Season 8 Premiere

Historically, The Walking Dead has premiered its new seasons in the middle of October around the 16th. The only exception to this was Season 1 which debuted on Halloween until Season 7 elected to kick off a week later than expected on October 23, 2016.

Season 8 will likely have a premiere date of either October 15, 2017 or October 22, 2017. Following the 100th episode, seven more episodes will air until a midseason break which will see the AMC series on hiatus from December of 2017 through February of 2018.

“Yeah, it’s a big, big show,” Simon actor Steven Ogg said. “I mean I really didn’t think about the one hundred thing so much as it’s, where it says it’s all out war, you definitely get that. Oh yeah. It’s all out war.”

More Walking Dead

MORE WALKING DEAD: TWD Season 8 Trailer Details Revealed / Why FTWD Is So Good Now / Dayton Callie Explains Jeremiah’s Complexity / Ross Marquand Promises A Massive TWD Season 8 / Negan’s Complete Backstory Coming In October / Madison Clark Is Officially FTWD’s Rick Grimes

Fear the Walking Dead airs Sundays at 9 pm ET on AMC. The Walking Dead will return for its eighth season in October of 2017. The first trailer is expected to arrive at San Diego Comic Con in July. For complete coverage and insider info all off-season long, follow @BrandonDavisBD on Twitter.