The Walking Dead: Five Things We’ve Learned In The Off Season

The Walking Dead has done an exceptional job of keeping its season six cliffhanger mystery in tact this offseason despite starting production the first week of this month. The cast and crew headed back to Georgia to begin work on season seven for May 2 but still, no one has any whiff of any idea who it was that Negan killed.

Still, there have been bits of information that have slipped through the cracks this off season and we’re starting to piece together things to come when The Walking Dead returns in the fall. No new cast members have entered the fold just yet, at least not publicly, but some casting calls have given away enough details to keep us content in the mean time.

Let’s take a look at some of the things we have learned about a third of the way into The Walking Dead‘s off season.

Ezekiel?

A recent casting call suggests The Walking Dead is casting for the fan-favorite comic book character, Ezekiel. 

The notice calls for an eccentric, charismatic, kind African American leader in his 40’s, which pretty much solidifies the casting call as Ezekiel but the further details hone in the former zookeeper even further. “To an outsider, his deliberate dress and mannerisms might seems theatrical, and to a degree, they are,” the casting call says. Ezekiel certainly is a theatrical leader, separating himself from his people by acting as a king and keeping a pet tiger around.

Planetary Explosion

Daryl Dixon actor Norman Reedus is predicting that the coming season just might end the world! “Trust me. I think probably the planet is going to explode,” Reedus tells EW. “That’s my feeling. It’s so good.”

So, you’re think that you’ve heard the actors hype the show before? Reedus can hear those thoughts but he’s still ready to talk it up. “Every time we go on a promotional tour talking about what’s going to come, we all say ‘Oh my God, it’s amazing. I can’t wait for you to see it,’” he says. “But it continually surprises me how this show grows and is put together and the execution of it – no pun intended. It blows my mind. It just continually reaches a new plateau every single time, and this is the highest plateau we’ve ever been. So just wait. It’s worth the wait, trust me.”

Kirkman Isn’t Sorry

Some fans approve but the majority – or at least the more vocal side – seem to be quite a bit frustrated by the decision to leave us hanging on who it was that Negan killed upon arrival.The Walking Dead‘s writer and creator is aware of the reaction and is not shy to acknowledge it publicly.

“We knew that there would be a reaction,” Kirkman tells EW. “We probably didn’t anticipate it would be so big, but cliffhangers are supposed to elicit a reaction. I mean, that’s what they’re designed to do. So, to a certain extent, it did its job. It maybe did its job a little toowell, but I think people that have invested in six years of the show may not be happy about that cliffhanger, and I think that’s a completely valid response, and I completely respect their opinion.”

That said, Kirkman has no regrets. “I’m not sorry that we did it,” he says. “I don’t regret that we did it, because [showrunner Scott M. Gimple] and I were trying to tell a story, and that’s what we and the entire creative team decided to do, But it is what it is. We’re working that much harder to come back for season 7 and make sure that the payoff is worth the dread of the uncertainty that we’ve given you over the months that we’re on break.”

Rick Will Die

Robert Kirkman is either using grim facts to tease fans of The Walking Dead regarding Rick’s fate in the comics and television series or has some plans to kill off the protagonist of the series.

“Do Rick die?” asks Reddit user maxforce54 during a Reddit AMA with The Walking Dead’s writer and creator. “He do eventually,” Kirkman responds, mocking the grammar of maxforce54.

Seeing as Kirkman has described The Walking Dead as the zombie movie which never ends, the possibility of Rick being killed of during the series’ lifespan is not entirely unlikely.

Later in the AMA, though, Kirkman answered another question with, “They all die eventually.” After all, Rick is only human.

Rick’s Brother Exists

In The Walking Dead: The Alien, readers are introduced to Jeff and Claudia, two characters from in Barcelona. At first, it seems to have as many ties to The Walking Dead comics asFear the Walking Dead does to The Walking Dead TV series. However, about half way through, we learn that Jeff is likely the brother of Rick Grimes.

Jeff all but confirms he is the brother of The Walking Dead‘s main character, Rick Grimes, when he initially reveals that he is searching for his brother, “Richie.”

“My brother was in the hospital,” Jeff reveals early on. A bit later, Jeff reveals more evidence of being a member of the Grimes family, when he references Carl while reflecting on a young boy he saw killed by zombies, saying “He couldn’t be much older than my nephew.” 

Later, having been bitten, Jeff asks Claudia to get a message to her brother should she ever reach the United States and find him. “He’s a police officer,” Jeff says about his brother, who everyone calls Rick. “Rick was shot in the line of duty… Slipped into a coma… He’s gonna pull through… He always does.”

That sounds a lot like Jeff is the brother of Rick Grimes.

All the confirmation we need, though, comes from issue #3 of The Walking Dead, in which Rick Grimes mentioned his brother Jeff.

The book is left open ended, not clarifying whether or not Jeff died on the boat he sailed off on or if he, like his brother, is going to pull through. Seeing as The Alien is set in the early days of the apocalypse, he might not know that his life can be saved if he acts quickly and cuts his leg off. Should the characters appear again, though, Rick won’t be the only member of the Grimes family missing a limb.

The Walking Dead comics release monthly. Jeff and Claudia have never been featured in the main storyline.