Scott Gimple Says ‘The Walking Dead’ Season 8 Finale “Very Much Sets Up the Start of the Next Story.”
Spoiler Alert! The following contains spoilers from season 8 of The Walking Dead.
The Walking Dead returns this weekend for what is sure to be an extremely emotional back half of its 8th season and current showrunner Scott M. Gimple is already looking towards the future.
It’s already been confirmed that in the second half of season 8, we will see the demise of Carl Grimes (played by Chandler Riggs). Carl’s death will put a whole other series of events into motion during the course of the last episodes of the season which will thus impact the outcome of the All-Out War storyline. This will all lead up to a monster of a season finale. Entertainment Weekly asked Gimple about just how big that final episode will be and he answered by saying:
“It’s very big. Probably currently a little too big. It was pretty amazing the scope of some of the things that we got to do. And yet the emotional intensity was insane. And it very much sets up the start of the next story.”
While we don’t know exactly what story will be happening next, we do know that, in addition to losing Carl, The Walking Dead will also be saying goodbye to another fan favorite character, Morgan Jones (played by Lennie James). After the end of the 8th season, Morgan will be moving over to the Fear the Walking Dead storyline though we’re not yet sure in what capacity. So, just how much will the season 8 finale set up for season 9? Gimple didn’t divulge details but said, “there is some,” set up. He continued:
“It certainly is not all set up. But the seeds to the next turn of the story are planted. And some of them are not. Some are subtly planted in as much that we know in many ways the next turn of the story.”
If you’re wondering just how much Carl’s death, which is a huge departure from the comic book storyline, will impact things, Gimple says despite the big changest, they are still hoping to evoke the same emotions as the comic storyline. He told EW:
“I think emotionally we’re aspiring to evoke the same feeling that [creator Robert Kirkman] achieved in the book but from the butterfly effect and different characters around that weren’t and vice versa, and even just the thrust of the story; how things play out are quite different in a lot of ways. There are some big changes that change the very outcome of certain aspects of the story — still trying to be true to the emotions of the story, but changing some big parts of it. It plays out very differently.”
Ready or not, The Walking Dead is returning this Sunday, February 25th at 9 PM EST on AMC.
Related Articles:
‘The Walking Dead’: Andrew Lincoln Sings a Goodbye Song to Chandler Riggs
‘The Walking Dead’ 809 Review: Hopeful Endings and Sad Beginnings
Andrew Lincoln Talks Final Half of ‘The Walking Dead’ Season 8
A karaoke obsessed, craft beer enthusiast and lover of all things pop culture, Denise enjoys all facets of entertainment from Broadway to box office blockbusters. In her spare time, she enjoys photography, concerts (lots and lots of concerts), volunteering, reading and playing with her rescue kitten, Samantha (who rescued who, right?).
