Key art & Season 9 synopsis for The Walking Dead shambles in

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

It won't be long now before AMC's THE WALKING DEAD returns for its ninth blood-soaked season, and AMC is giving fans what they want by unveiling the official synopsis for the new season, alongside key art that could hint at the planned exit of Andrew Lincoln's Rick Grimes. In the new image, we see Rick standing among the ruins of Washington D.C., with select members of his survivor group standing guard in the background. One thing that immediately stands out about the image is that Rick is bathed in a red coloring, which could be perceived as a hint to a bloody end for the character during the events to come.

You can check out the new art below:

In addition to the image, AMC shared the official synopsis for the new season, which you can read for yourself below:

Last season brought the culmination of “All Out War,” which pitted Rick Grimes and his group of survivors against the Saviors and their cunning leader, Negan. With Negan’s life in his hands, Rick had a character-defining choice in front of him. By making the unilateral decision to spare Negan, Rick upheld the values his late son, Carl, championed in order to build for the future, but created conflict within his group.

Now, we see our survivors a year and a half after the end of the war, rebuilding civilization under Rick’s steadfast leadership. It is a time of relative peace among the communities as they work together, looking to the past to forge the future, but the world they knew is rapidly changing as man-made structures continue to degrade, and nature takes over, changing the landscape and creating new challenges for our survivors.

As time passes, the communities confront unexpected obstacles, danger, and of course, walkers, but nothing quite prepares them for the formidable force they are about to encounter, which threatens the very idea of civilization that our survivors have worked so hard to build.

Based on the comic book series written by Robert Kirkman and published by Image Comics, “The Walking Dead” reigns the number one drama on television among adults 18-49 for the last six seasons. The series is executive produced by chief content officer Scott M. Gimple, showrunner Angela Kang, Robert Kirkman, Gale Anne Hurd, David Alpert, Greg Nicotero, Tom Luse and Denise Huth.

How do you think Rick will exit THE WALKING DEAD? Will he ride a horse into the sunset with the intent of carving a new path through the hordes, or will he die a gruesome death? Let us know your predictions int he comments section below.

THE WALKING DEAD Season 9 will premiere on Sunday, October 7th.