Rick, Carl and the rest of "The Walking Dead" gang weren't exactly in the best situation when we last saw them, being locked in a boxcar after seeking refuge at a settlement called Terminus. The people of Terminus, it turns out, were less than friendly, and season five will look to pick up right where season four left off as the characters become the unwilling members of an expedition to Washington D.C. in an attempt to create a cure for the zombie virus that plagues their world.
AMC debuted the season five trailer (embedded below) at its usual place -- Hall H of San Diego Comic-Con during "The Walking Dead" panel, where members of the cast and crew were in attendance to discuss the changes in store for the characters in the new season debuting October 12 on AMC.
Showrunner Scott Gimple says season five will (somehow) be even darker than the seasons that came before.
"Once they lost the prison and Hershel, all bets were off," Gimple said at the panel. "They did find out that you can't come back from the things you've done...This season is going to define these characters."
Many viewers suspect the population of Terminus, dubbed "termites," to be cannibals based on evidence from season four, but Gimple choose not to reveal anything about the nature of the community. He did say that part of the season will explore the backstory of "Terminus" and how the termites came to be there.
All the show's characters, with the exception of Carol, Tyreese and Beth, were reunited at the end of season four after half a season of being separated. It seems Carol and Tyreese eventually meet up with Rick and the members of Terminus, while Beth has been taken captive as a part of some "greater good" inspired experiment. Melissa McBride, who plays Carol, says her character is "prepared to do anything," and, perhaps, more than any other character on the show has seen the biggest development. At the end of last season, Carol was forced to kill a young mentally unstable girl, fearing she would put the group in danger.
"In her center, she feels justified," McBride said about Carol. "If it weren't for that, what's the point of living?"
Walking Dead comic creator Robert Kirkman says the show will follow the comics "pretty close," with executive producer Gale Anne Hurd saying that the new season will feature multiple new locations, some of them inspired by the comic book but with a more suburban feel. One newcomer to the show is actor Seth Gilliam, who will be portraying the comic character Father Gabriel.
