All you need to know as Walking Dead invades Comic-Con

From Digital Spy

Before the cast of The Walking Dead get ready for war in season eight, they've invaded Comic-Con International to give us a taste of the road ahead.

Along with a new trailer hinting at a jaw-dropping time jump, both sides of the Alexandrians/Saviours conflict came together in Hall H on Friday for a lively chat about the long-awaited showdown between Rick and Negan.

Since we're still three months away from the actual season premiere, sit back and relax as Digital Spy runs down all of the biggest talking points from the show's Comic-Con panel:

1. A solemn goodbye

Both Fear the Walking Dead and its parent show The Walking Dead began their panels paying tribute to John Bernecker, the veteran stuntman who tragically died last week after suffering a head injury in a fight scene rehearsal gone-wrong on the show's Georgia set.

Scott M. Gimple told those in Hall H: "John was a stunt performer. You've seen his work before, and you just didn't know it. John passed away this week, after he was injured doing something he loved - telling stories that helped people escape, and that entertained us.."

"He was living his dream, and helped other people do the same," the showrunner added, before getting the actual panel under way.

2. A crossover is looking more possible every season

At every possible opportunity in the past, the production team behind both The Walking Dead and its prequel Fear the Walking Dead have argued that the massive geographical distance and timeline issues make a proper crossover nearly impossible.

And yet, Walking Dead guru Robert Kirkman sounded more enthusiastic than ever about eventually making the crossover work at some point in the foreseeable future.

"It's a question of timeline," the writer explained. "The Walking Dead season eight is so far ahead of Fear the Walking Dead season three.

"I think that it's something we'd love to try and work out. I think the fans would love it. It's complicated because of that gap but it's something we'd love to do eventually."

3. Negan still regrets losing Sasha

But not for the reasons you might think! In order to write out new Star Trek: Discovery lead Sonequa Martin-Green, Gimple devised an emotional sendoff last season in which Sasha killed herself (and thus turned herself into a walker) when captured by Negan.

In Negan's mind, the whole experience was a near-miss and slightly annoying because he'd have liked to have harnessed Sasha's killer instinct in the right direction.

"That would've been an interesting storyline going forward," Jeffrey Dean Morgan lamented. "[Negan] sees something in every one of these characters, which is rare in this world.

"They're all very strong as a team and individually. I think Negan respects everyone he's come up against and I think Sasha was no different."

4. Don't expect a cure

Rick only came close to a cure for the zombie apocalypse once before, when his crew briefly moved into the (soon-to-be-exploded) CDC headquarters in Atlanta. Ever since they learned that every human is a carrier of the zombie virus, there's been little hope for a cure.

The Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman was quizzed at Comic-Con on Friday if a potential remedy for zombie bites or the virus itself is out there somewhere.

"We like to not be as definitive because we don't want to reveal anything but the answers are no and no," Kirkman joked. "In terms of actually trying to solve this thing, I've always thought that one of the best things about this show is that it's not about scientists.

"It's not about people who would take a task [to find a cure]... This show is about people and their struggles to survive."

5. There's more to come for Negan and Carl

Readers of Robert Kirkman's comics know that these two characters form an unusual and troubling bond in the source material. We got a taste of that during Carl's failed invasion of the compound next season - and there's more where that came come.

"Ever since the comics with the Carl and Negan storyline came out, I have been so so excited for the whole storyline between these two. I can't wait to do some of that stuff," Carl actor Chandler Riggs teased.

The Walking Dead returns on Sunday, October 22 on AMC in the US, and on FOX in the UK on Monday, October 23. Watch a trailer below:

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