Will Shiva Die in ‘The Walking Dead’ Season 8?

During Season 7 of The Walking Dead, fans were in awe of King Ezekial’s lovable, yet ferocious tiger, Shiva. With the King marching his army to war in Season 8, many are jumping for joy, knowing that the beautiful creature will likely join in the fight.

However, if you read the comics, the thought of Shiva in the All Out War is a scary thought. Yes, sadly, there is a good chance the tiger could die before the season is over.

For those who don’t know, Shiva lost her life in the comics while saving the life of Ezekiel. While attacking a Savior outpost, Ezekiel made a mistake, and them to retreat. On the way out, a horde of walkers showed up, surrounding Ezekiel. Shiva jumped in front of him and took on all of the walkers by herself so that the King could get away. As you can imagine, it didn’t end well for Shiva.

This happened in the early part of the All Out War story line, so many have been speculating that the same fate would be realized on screen this season. When you think about the cost associated with bringing Shiva to life, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the creative team decide to kill her off.

Aside from the contracts of the stars, the motion capture and CGI required to create Shiva is probably one of the most costly parts of the production. That’s why you didn’t see very much of her last season. Each scene that Shiva is featured will be incredibly expensive.

Don’t think for a second that The Walking Dead wouldn’t cut out something cool to save a bunch of money on special effects. Think about Rick for a second. In the comics, The Governor cut off his hand in what would have been Season 3 of the show. The scene would have played well on TV, cementing The Governor’s place as a great Walking Dead villain, but it never happened. Think of how expensive it would have been to make Andrew Lincoln appear one-handed. It wasn’t going to happen.

When it’s all said and done, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Shiva on the way out sometime soon, as much as that hurts to even say.

The Walking Dead airs Sunday nights at 9 pm ET.