Fear the Walking Dead Showrunners Tease New Episode: “Die Hard With Zombies”

Die Hard with zombies: that’s how showrunners Andrew Chambliss and Ian Goldberg describe the next episode of Fear the Walking Dead. Instead of Bruce Willis’ John McClane yippee-ki-yaying the Walking Dead, it’s Dwight (Austin Amelio) and Althea (Maggie Grace) who go rogue on a recon mission in next Sunday’s “Alaska.” Their mission takes them into the top floors of a city building, where they’ll have to make their way past a zombie-filled stairwell if they hope to reach the roof before [redacted]. Also in the mix is Morgan Jones (Lennie James), who wrestles with the responsibility of caring for new mother and newly-widowed Rachel (Brigitte Kali Canales) away from the clutches of villain Virginia (Colby Minifie).

“The inspiration for this episode was Die Hard. So I’ll just say, if you ever wanted to see Die Hard with zombies, you’re going to like the next episode,” Goldberg told Entertainment Weekly.

Viewers tuning in should keep an eye open for clues about the two men (Joseph Castillo-Midyett and Stephen Brodie) who hired since-slain bounty hunter Emile (Demetrius Grosse) to track down the key needed for a washed ashore submarine in Galveston, Texas. It was here the men spray-painted “the end is the beginning,” a phrase that resurfaces in “Alaska.”

“I won’t speak to what the rest of that group looks like or the scope of it or what they want, but we are going to be doling out and learning more about this enemy as the season goes on, including in the next episode,” Goldberg teased. “It will be a mounting threat that we’ll see why Virginia is forming an army. It’ll all make sense once you see exactly who this group is and how formidable they are.”

The sixth season finds Morgan’s group, including series OGs Alicia (Alycia Debnam-Carey) and Victor Strand (Colman Domingo), mostly split up and dispersed across different western settlements controlled by Virginia’s Pioneers. Dwight continues the search for his missing wife Sherry (Christine Evangelista) as he rebels against Virginia’s rule, and anthology-style stories will continue to play out as the season unfolds.

“We take a much deeper dive with all the characters getting a little more kind of cinematic through there [this season],” Fear director-producer Michael E. Satrazemis told ComicBook.com. The franchise veteran added the season is a mixture of both smaller episodes and installments that are “very big.”

Follow the author @CameronBonomolo on Twitter for all things The Walking Dead Universe. New episodes of Fear the Walking Dead premiere Sundays at 9 pm ET/8c on AMC.