‘The Walking Dead’ Showrunner Previews Whisperer Arc

The Walking Dead has its creepiest and possibly deadliest villain on its horizon as The Whisperers arrived in the Mid-Season Nine finale.

Fans of The Walking Dead comics know this group as one which wears the flesh of the dead to blend in and walk among them, lead by Alpha and Beta, and claiming many members of Team Family along the way. As a version of this comic book story comes to life on the AMC series, showrunner Angela Kang offered a bit of insight regarding the future villains.

“The Whisperers story in the comic is one of my favorites from the comic,” Kang said. “That storyline was coming out in the comics as I was working on the show. We were literally reading – we get the individual issues in the office and we were reading them and were like, ‘What is he doing? What’s happening? What’s happening?’ We were literally, ‘What’s happening? Could this be it?’” Kang is aiming to keep such a pace and level of interest on the AMC series show took over as showrunner beginning with its current season.

“And then it’s like, I just feel like the answer was so much more strange and rewarding than I thought it would be,” Kang said. She stayed true to this vibe in her crafting of the Mid-Season Nine finale which shockingly took Tom Payne’s Paul “Jesus” Rovia character from the land of the living. “So that’s really fun, I think to delve into,” she said. “So I’m really excited for the people who don’t know the story to hopefully see the twists unfold.”

More specifically, Alpha actress Samantha Morton and Beta actor Ryan Hurst have both Kang and the entire fanbase tremendously excited for what’s to come. “I’m really excited about the cast we have,” Kang explained. “Samantha Morton and Ryan Hurst as Alpha and Beta. I just think they brought so much energy and intensity already to the process, like in such a great way. And I think we get to tell a bit of a story that is sort of a mystery. I think in many ways they’re the most formidable group that we’ve come across because they have the power of zombies behind them. So that’s something that I’m really excited for people to see.”

The Walking Dead returns for the back half of its ninth season on February 10, 2019 at 9 pm ET. Fear the Walking Dead will return for its fifth season in 2019. 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.