Greg Nicotero Teases A Very Different The Walking Dead

06/22/2016 11:53 am EDT

The Walking Dead has a habit of "reinventing itself" with every eight or so episodes. It's a tradition which showrunner Scott Gimple likes to enstill upon the series and has done a good job of keeping in place since he joined the crew.

With the season six finale ending an a momentous cliffhanger, season seven will start with a "new world order" under the rule of Jeffrey Dean Morgan's villainous Negan. Rick is no longer in charge and his group is certainly not safe. The show has, once again, reinvented itself.

"The next season is a very different Walking Dead from the one we are accustomed to," executive producer Greg Nicotero tells Express. "I think that people will enjoy that the show continues to change direction and doesn't just deliver the same thing over and over again."

While Nicotero isn't ready to spill too many details about the direction which The Walking Dead will follow when it returns, he is confident in the choices the writers are making. "It's the logical place where our show should go," Nicotero says. "We close one chapter and open a whole new chapter."

As comic fans know, Negan's introduction was a huge shake up for The Walking Dead's books. The death of Glenn and ripple effect Negan's power had on all of Alexandria and the Hilltop is still felt by Rick and company but the TV adaptation won't be following the events of the books as an exact mirror. "I don't think we would be doing the material justice if we just regurgitated it word for word," Nicotero says to DigitalSpy. "There are iconic moments, and there are things that we will pay tribute to, and even if we don't do it exactly the same way that we find it in the comic book, we will find a way for fans of the graphic novel to feel like they are getting their money's worth."

Rumors have been swirling all off-season long about whether or not The Walking Dead TV series will follow the comic books upon returning. If so, trouble is imminent for Glenn Rhee, but comment sections around the Internet all seem to have different claims about who it is which Negan is bringing down his bat upon.

The Walking Dead will return for its seventh season in October but we may get a few more clues as to who it was that died when a new trailer arrives at San Diego Comic Con next month.

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