The Walking Dead returned from its midseason break last night as the second half of season eight got underway, with the zombie drama now moving full steam ahead towards the climax of the ‘All Out War’ story arc.
Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, showrunner Scott M. Gimple has teased the season 8 finale, describing it as “almost too big” for audiences to handle:
“It’s very big,” said Gimple. “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.”
Gimple also went on to explain how the story will differ from that of the comic books, adding that:
“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.”
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The season 8 finale will mark a farewell for Gimple, who is moving over to the companion series Fear the Walking Dead, with long time TWD writer Angela Kang set to take over as showrunner on the main series for season 9.
The Walking Dead season 8 airs on Sundays on AMC in the US and on Mondays on FOX in the UK.
