“The Walking Dead”: First spoilers for Season 7

After the disastrous finale of the 6th season of «The Walking Dead», the first spoilers are already circulating on the Internet, which affect the 7th season. For example, these spoilers come from the social media team for Robert Kirkman's comic book series. Though they edited their messages shortly thereafter, what was revealed for Season 7 hasn't escaped the attention of fans. Director Greg Nicotero also gave us a first taste of the set. And what role does Heath play in the new season? What is happening to Daryl? And what role does Negan have in the future? You can find out more about these questions here.

The season 6 finale ended on a cliffhanger that left the question of which main character was killed by Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan). Now it looks as if the staff of "The Walking Dead" would already slip up on secrecy before the start of filming. The social media team for Robert Kirkman's comic book series has apparently revealed a season 7 spoiler on Facebook and Instagram. For National Pet Day, the Walking Dead site posted a picture of comic book character Ezekiel and his tiger Shiva - along with a hint that fans will be seeing them soon. This can only mean the 7th season of the AMC production, because Ezekiel appeared in the comics for the first time in a comic in early 2013. Does this confirm that we'll be seeing the leader of a whole new community as early as October 2016? There were already hints in the finale that we were making big strides towards Ezekiel and his tiger.

Carol (Melissa McBride) and Morgan (Lennie James) have been found by two men in strange armor who have agreed to help an injured Carol. Their looks reveal that they belong to the "Kingdom" community, which is led by Ezekiel. Apparently, the social media team soon realized they had given too much away - they promptly changed their posts on Facebook and Instagram and deleted all references to Season 7. But the fans don't miss even the smallest misstep. TWD co-producer Greg Nicotero also provided some teaser material on Instagram. There, the special effects master, who will also direct the upcoming season premiere, shared a video showing tests with an exploding dummy head. We can be pretty sure these are the forerunners of you-know-which scene, but it's best to take a look for yourself:

"Crazy exploding head test where we used compressed air and water instead of fake blood," Greg Nicotero captioned this short behind-the-scenes video, which the most logical guess is that it may have been from the set of Season XNUMX . While filming on the new episodes hasn't officially started yet, it's safe to assume that Nicotero's special effects team will have to be ready well in advance of the cast to get all the gory and gross props ready for the final shoot. And that includes experimenting with what it might look like when Negan hits Lucille's beet with his baseball bat! Make no mistake, this is a dummy and there's no point in making assumptions based on the features of this exploding gentleman. But one thing is clear, even if Nicotero only uses water and compressed air for this, that scene seems to be a pretty big mess... Especially when the water is then supposed to be colored red and the "blood" splashes in all directions...

And what role could Heath play in Season 7? In the comics by Robert Kirkman, which are considered the basis for the series, Heath poses a serious threat to the evil tyrant Negan. After Glenn's tragic death, Heath feels revenge, resists his demands and ultimately tries to kill Negan. As producer Gimple recently announced, there's a lot possible for the character Heath in the new season: "We're hoping that in a certain episode we can have him do a certain thing that then leads to another thing. So far, a lot is still open”. So they have big plans for Heath, but of course Gimple didn't really want to say anything concrete. Corey Hawkins has meanwhile been confirmed as the lead in the FOX-produced series 24: LEGACY, following in the footsteps of series veteran Kiefer Sutherland. However, there is no concern that filming will collide with that of «The Walking Dead» Season 7.

Josh McDermitt, starring Eugene, has meanwhile posted a picture with Norman Reedus (Daryl) from the set on Instagram. Is this photo proof that Daryl Dixon is alive? The picture must be from season 6, because as we all know, the actors will not come to Atlanta to film season 7 until the end of April at the earliest. Josh McDermitt posted the photo at Walker Stalker Con in Nashville and so it can be assumed that this token of love from Josh McDermitt to his dirty biker colleagues can by no means be seen as proof that Daryl will survive the finale unscathed. Just as Rick, Daryl and all the others had to kneel in row before Negan in episode 16 and he finally beat one of them mercilessly in the end, one would probably not assume that there would ever be anything other than deep hatred between these two Camp would give. However, as actor Jeffrey Dean Morgan recently pointed out, Negan is not all malicious - on the contrary! The comic readers among you probably know that Negan has a very special relationship with one of Rick's group. A relationship that is built on respect and that, at least this is what showrunner Scott M. Gimple has now announced, will also be the subject of the series.

In the comics, the odd relationship begins when Negan, Dwight, and the other Saviors show up in Alexandria after Glenn's murder to get half of the supplies. However, our dear Carl doesn't agree with this at all and threatens Negan that he will soon realize how dangerous they all are. When Negan and his Saviors leave, Carl hides in their truck and shoots some Saviors as they open the door. Dwight eventually manages to knock him out before he is held hostage by Negan. While one might fear the worst for Rick's son, Negan behaves very differently than expected: normally acting cold and callous, he is not unimpressed by Grimes Junior's confident demeanor. He proclaims that he will punish him, but secretly teaches him the methods of the Saviors. He is also interested in Carl's past and at one point even tells him that he thinks Carl will become a serial killer one day. "Serial Killer"?! Doesn't that sound familiar? This comment was already made in the season finale, when Carl kneeled in front of Negan and met his gaze and Negan then explained to Rick that he should pull himself together, otherwise he would make it far too easy for him to kill "the future serial killer"...

Gimple revealed: “There will also be some kind of mix. It could also be that there will be another character who gets some of that. So this relationship will definitely be shown. Whether it's Carl or not, I can't say. I definitely want to explore Negan's odd respect for someone else, though, as I think that was the hallmark of this relationship, and will then share versions of this story." Even if Chandler Riggs already teased that he is looking forward to a "big moment" from Carl in the further course of "The Walking Dead", this could really only be limited to a moment and we could instead have someone else secretly in the truck towards the Saviors headquarters see driving. Who could that be? We can only think of one person who would have at least one motive for taking such a daring step: Daryl, who is still looking for redemption and wants revenge on Dwight and the other Saviors.

And what about Negan? Negan is something very special! There is no either/or with Negan, his personality is extremely complex, as Kirkman revealed in a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly: “Negan is friendly. Negan has respect. Negan is psychotic. Negan is ruthless. He is a very complex character who has many different facets. There is a great sense of honor in him. He has a strong value system. I think he's like no one else we've met on The Walking Dead so far. He's definitely a different kind of bad guy. He's sadistic and dangerous and all those things you'd expect the governor to do, but he's a lot more controlled. He's a lot less changeable and has far fewer mood swings. He's not a guy who just loses control and shoots people like the governor did." Heartless, brutal and unscrupulous, Negan also has a certain lust for torment, which is symbolically embodied by his sweetheart Lucille. Because this does not kill quickly and painlessly, but slowly and painfully. So one of his most distinctive personality traits seems to be his sadistic streak, because he just loves to humiliate others!