Fans of The Walking Dead are preparing for a season of significant change when the show's ninth season finally begins to unravel. The loss of the series' lead, among other developments, marks a sea of change for the veteran zombie drama. Instead of trying to rush things, Greg Nicotero is sharing that the show will be taking its time to flesh out its characters and make room for the important stuff. Nicotero said:
This season's all really been about going back to what made The Walking Dead great when we first started watching the show. I felt like it's very much back to the DNA that we love. The first episode, y'know, all the scenes that I shot... they're all isolated; there's nobody else in those frames. I wanted you to be leaning in and listening to everything that they're saying. They have real conversations, conversations that you give a sh*t about. 'That's what Rick is feeling! That's what Daryl is feeling!' They're actually talking, and it's the first time that we've done that in a long time, where there are not those ellipses of dot dot dot, and you leave it hanging out there. 'I don't know what's going to come after.' I'm like, 'After what?' Now we're getting the chance to see these people interact with each other, and they care about each other. I loved it.
The Walking Dead's executive producer, director, and makeup supervisor shared the revealing Season 9 tidbit with UPROXX, and that is not all he told them. Greg Nicotero also compared the show's ninth installment to Season 2. While acknowledging the backlash that season incurred, Nicotero also pointed out that it was a pivotal one that saw the audience fall in love with Daryl and Carol. The reason being, because the show took the time.
The nuanced approach that Greg Nicotero is teasing for Season 9 hints at a return to form for the series, at a time where it will be undergoing at least one radical alteration. One particularly stands to alter how it has always been. It is a move that fans are likely to appreciate. The Walking Dead will be taking the time to give them the conversations they care about, while they can still be heard. Sadly, fans will not be able to lean in and hear from certain characters for much longer.
While Daryl will be sticking around, conversations between he and Rick, where they talk about their feelings are not long for the series. It is a bittersweet angle that could offer an intense emotional draw for fans wanting to savor the moment. Remembering the way things were before they turn to face what is and will be. The interaction between the characters has been one of the show's appealing factors for fans.
While the drama will be taking the chance to slow down and smell the roses, it will also be gearing up for a lot of nail-biting developments, including a death. Find out how it all unfolds when The Walking Dead Season 9 premieres Sunday, October 7 at 9 p.m. ET on AMC. The zombie drama joins a slew of other series set to return and premiere this fall.
Greg Nicotero recently revealed that he directed Andrew Lincoln's final scenes on the drama, while sharing he is still in a bit of denial over Lincoln having left it. In many ways, what Nicotero has teased sounds like the season Walking Dead fans have been waiting to see.
