Who Dies in The Walking Dead Season 9?

The Walking Dead has long been one of the most gruesome and death-laden shows on television. The loss of major characters is pretty much woven into the DNA of AMC’s horror series. So, with the premiere of the ninth season taking place tonight, fans are obviously thinking about which of their favorite characters will be biting the dust this year.

While there’s no way to predict what will happen on The Walking Dead from season to season, it’s always fun to guess, right?

There are obvious theories as to who won’t make through Season 9. Major characters like Rick and Maggie are already set to make their exits, so they’re prime candidates for potential deaths. Then again, a look to the comics also give us some dark horse candidates.

So who is going to go down this season? Here are our best guesses ahead of the premiere.

Rick

Going into the season, Rick’s eventual fate is the biggest thing on every fan’s mind. We all know he’s leaving at some point in the next few episodes, but no one is sure exactly how he will go. 

Rick could easily be written off the show by riding off into the sunset on some magnificent horse, but The Walking Dead is famous for gruesome and heartbreaking goodbyes. It wouldn’t be all that surprising if Rick was killed.

We’re all hoping that Rick die this season, but it’s a possibility. 

Maggie

Along with Andrew Lincoln, Lauren Cohan is the other main cast member that has already announced their departure ahead of the new season. Also like Lincoln, we aren’t exactly sure when Cohan will be making her exit.

So, given that Cohan is leaving at some point this year, it’s safe to assume that Maggie could be dying in the near future. 

Since Maggie is still around in the comics, it’s tough to say exactly how Maggie will be written off.

Gregory

The death of Gregory could be a pretty safe bet for Season 9, if his storyline sticks to the comics.

If you recall, once Maggie takes over Hilltop in the source material, Gregory does his best to overthrow her. At one point he leads a plot to have her killed, but it comes back to bite him. To show that she’s taking a different approach to leadership than Rick, Maggie executes Gregory in front of the whole community.

Keep an eye out, this could be one of the earliest exits in Season 9.

Ezekiel

When looking to the comics for potential deaths this season, King Ezekiel is another prime candidate. 

Think back to the introduction of The Whisperers in Kirkman’s comic series. In one of the initial interactions with Rick and the survivors, The Whisperers famously marked their territory by putting several decapitated heads on a line of pikes. Ezekiel was one of them.

With the introduction of The Whisperers already confirmed for this season, the fate of Ezekiel is definitely in question.

Judith

This is just a shot in the dark here, but it might be time to think about the possibility of Judith Grimes dying at some point this season.

No one wants to think about this, but the show is moving in a new direction. The rest of the Grimes family will be gone soon, so why wouldn’t Judith make her exit, too?

Fear the Walking Dead airs Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on AMC. The Walking Dead returns for its ninth season on Oct. 7, 2018. For more updates and insider info all year long, follow @BrandonDavisBD on Twitter!