Does New ‘The Walking Dead’ Season 9 Trailer Spoil Rick’s Death?

A new trailer for The Walking Dead‘s upcoming ninth season might reveal the fate of Rick Grimes, as actor Andrew Lincoln is set to depart.

The new 30-second spot, seen in the video above, concludes with a shot of Rick Grimes facing peril with a walker quickly approaching. It cuts before Rick is bitten or any harm comes to him but it certainly seems to be playing with fan expectations, at the very least. Most importantly, why isn’t Rick Grimes doing anything to move or avoid this walker?

Fans know Lincoln is exiting The Walking Dead before the first half of Season Nine comes to a close, but it would seem shocking for AMC to reveal Rick’s fate in a trailer, had the network not done such a thing before. In Season Eight, Carl Grimes’ fate was revealed in the first trailer, which was released at San Diego Comic Con. As he lay in the woods after finding Siddiq, he was bitten on his side.

The moment that saw Carl getting bit came in Episode 8×05, but wasn’t revealed until the Mid-Season Eight finale. The moment leading up to Carl Grimes’ fate being sealed, however, was revealed months before it aired.

Is Season Nine following its predecessor’s lead by revealing the fate of a Grimes family member? Fans will certainly find out fairly quickly when Season Nine begins airing as Lincoln was spotted back at his United Kingdom home before the first half of Season Nine’s production had concluded.

“My relationship with this part is far from over,” Lincoln told ComicBook.com at San Diego Comic Con, as seen in the video at this link. “I’m not gonna say anything more than that but I will say, ‘Watch this season.’”

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!