A Walking Dead cast member since the show's third season, Danai Gurira is preparing to make her exit in the upcoming season 10, as contract negotiations between Gurira and AMC earlier this year ended with the actress only signing on to appear in a "handful" of episodes. With this being her final season, it seems very fitting that the first image from it features Gurira's character Michonne, swinging her sword with zombies in front of her and fire behind.
Speaking with Entertainment Weekly, showrunner Angela Kang said that the fire is an important part of this image because the new season will be exploring natural elements:
Fire is one of those elements that comes into play in a few key ways that twist the story in a way that will be pretty exciting. Fire is terrifying now, but we sort of take for granted that we have people that can deal with it. It obviously has very different implications for our people in an apocalyptic world."
Kang also mentioned that the show will be dealing with the trauma its characters have experienced, and
…the idea of what is real or not real. Things having to do with illusion, or just memory breaking, PTSD. So there’s a lot of stuff that we’re doing that’s pretty unique to the feel of this season."
Of course, the situation between the group of survivors Michonne is part of and the group known as the Whisperers, people who walk among the dead wearing zombie skins, will also be a focus in the new season. Kang says we'll be learning more about the Whisperers in season 10.
We’ll be telling more of their side of the story … We will get some interesting backstory, and some more insight into some more characters within that group. We will learn more about Alpha and Beta. They’ve got their own problems, too, within their group, so there will be some interesting back-and-forth between our two groups…"
Yes, there will be some fighting, and the team behind the show are
having a lot of fun with the fact that the last time our people were in a war, it was automatic weapons and gunfire, but we’re just not really in that period of time anymore. So we’re working on some battle stuff that is unlike anything we’ve done on the show, which I’m super-excited about. [Director and executive producer Greg Nicotero] has been in rehearsals for some stuff we’re about to shoot that I think is pretty cool."
It will be a bummer to see Michonne go, but I look forward to seeing what's going to happen in season 10.
The Walking Dead season 10 will likely begin airing on AMC sometime in October. Before we get there, there's going to be a Walking Dead panel at the San Diego Comic-Con this Friday, July 19th.