‘The Walking Dead’ Showrunner Previews Season 10 Hilltop Leadership

The Walking Dead has given one community a bit more of a struggle than others throughout Season Nine. The first episode saw Maggie execute the community’s former leader to cement herself as the woman in charge. Shortly thereafter, she left town and Paul “Jesus” Rovia took over, disinterestedly. When Jesus was shockingly killed in the Mid-Season Nine finale, Tara became the next leader only to be killed by the Whisperers in the second half of the season.

Spoilers for The Walking Dead Season Nine finale follow. Major spoilers!

Now, with the Kingdom having moved into the Hilltop and all of the communities gathering together, the community needs a new leader. In Season 10, which The Walking Dead showrunner Angela Kang has already begun working on, this will be a large part of the show’s story.

“That’s definitely going to be part of the story going forward,” Kang told ComicBook.com. “They have wound up with a leadership vacuum, and part of the arc of the Hilltop as a community this year is they started off the year as the most organized, thriving, well set up community, and by the end of the year, they’ve lost a string of leaders. They’re going to have challenges related to that.”

Earlier in the season, it seemed like Michonne was trying to hint at Daryl that he should be the Hilltop’s next leader. With names like Carol and Ezekiel also living at the community for the time being, there are certainly a few candidates for the job.

“They’ve just taken in basically an entire community worth of refugees from the Kingdom,” Kang said. “So, what does that mean for the Hilltop going forward? That’s going to be a big part of where the story starts in the next season.”

Looking back at her first complete season as showrunner, Kang is proud of her work. “I wanted the audience to feel the same way that I feel about making the show, which is that it’s like a fun, wild adventure,” Kang said, which fits with the Hilltop’s narrative alone. “Yeah, I guess I feel good, and I’m already deep in the middle of the next season, so it all just keeps rolling for me.”

Who do you think should step into a leadership role at the Hilltop in Season 10? Share your thoughts in the comment section!

The Walking Dead returns for its tenth season in October. Fear the Walking Dead will return for its fifth season on June 2. For complete coverage and insider info all year long, follow @BrandonDavisBD on Twitter and watch ComicBook.com’s After The Dead each Sunday night following new episodes on Facebook.com/ComicBookNOW.