The Walking Dead Season 7 panel with video reaction! (Comic Con 2016)

Last Updated on August 5, 2021

As is now very much tradition, AMC brought The Walking Dead to San Diego Comic-Con in order to premiere a new trailer as well as get reacquainted with the cast and main producers, who are perhaps the most popular people in the entire convention at any given time. In addition to showrunner Scott Gimple, executive producers Gale Anne Hurd, Greg Nicotero and creator/writer Robert Kirkman, the panel included Andrew Lincoln, Norman Reedus, Danai Gurira, Chandler Riggs, Michael Cudlitz, Steven Yeun, Lauren Cohan, Christian Serratos, Sonequa Martin-Green, Ross Marquand, Josh McDermitt and Jeffrey Dean Morgan. (Not in attendance were Lennie James or Melissa McBride, but both sent in video messages.) Per usual, most of the panel consisted of tales from the set and vague insinuations regarding the upcoming season. Naturally, no one spilled the beans on who met Lucille up close and personally at the end of last season, but we’re all free to speculate on that (I have my own predictions, which you can hear in the video below).

– Perhaps the highlight of the panel, aside from the trailer, came very early on, when Morgan strutted out after the main cast sat and proceeded to dish a few of Negan’s lines while carrying his trusty bat, Lucille. No bashings took place.

– As we saw in the new trailer, the show will be introducing the character of King Ezekiel, who is well know to fans of the comics. He’s played by an actor named Khary Payton. (BTW I really love that moment with Ezekiel and his pet Tiger, Shiva.) Scott Gimple remarked that he’s a bit younger than he is in the books. The actor came in and owned the audition, both he and Kirkman loved him.

– The Season 7 premiere is directed by Nicotero and written by Gimple. Nicotero remarked that it was intense and emotional directing the episode, for perhaps obvious reasons.

– Lincoln remarked that his mom is a big fan of the show and even gives him notes on his performance. He doesn’t seem too fond of that.

– Yeun recollected reading Issue 100 of The Walking Dead, which (SPOILER ALERT) sees the Glenn character killed by Negan. “Ohh crap,” was what Yeun said after reading it, but he also admired that the books took a chance to do something like that so deep into the run.

– Danai Gurira said there was a scene a few seasons ago where she thought there might be sparks between Michonne and Rick. “She is a woman who has to deeply respect the man” and Michonne clearly respects Rick. Something about their connection made it natural for her that they’d get together.

– On a more fun note, there was plenty of horseplay between Lincoln and Reedus. Apparently, the two are always pranking each other (we saw a video of Lincoln sitting in his car while glitter spewed out of his vents). Reedus also once put chickens in Lincoln’s trailer. During these revelations, Lincoln tried to throw some glitter on Reedus, but Reedus deflected it and it went over the both of them. Both men were covered in gold glitter the rest of the panel.

– McDermitt awkwardly describes seeing female Eugene cosplayers. He thinks some of them are hot, which is strange for him.

– Serratos also thinks its cool to see Rosita cosplay. “So nerdy and exciting.”

There’s even more to parse through, so check out my video reaction (with Alex Maidy) below. There you’ll find out who I think gets the axe – or the bat, as it were – during the Season 7 premiere.