The end is very, very near.

The cast of “The Walking Dead” returned to Comic-Con for the show’s very last outing at the annual fan event, dropping the trailer for the final eight episodes of the AMC series and teasing what’s to come before the grand finale.

Moderated by “Talking Dead” host Chris Hardwick, Chief Content Officer of The Walking Dead Universe Scott Gimple, Showrunner Angela Kang and EP/Director/Special Effects Makeup Supervisor Greg Nicotero were joined by stars Norman Reedus, Melissa McBride, Ross Marquand, Seth Gilliam, Josh McDermitt, Michael James Shaw, Cailey Fleming and Lauren Ridloff to discuss the back half of Season 11.

After 12 years, 11 seasons, countless heartbreaking deaths and thousands of zombie headshots, the show will will air its final episode later this year — starting October 2.

Unable to render YouTube Video.

The trailer for the final episodes started with footage from all the show’s most memorable moments so far, before setting up a final battle between Horsby at the Commonwealth and our survivors. The footage Includes a lot of goopy walker fights, some love connections and walkers that could possibly “climb walls and open doors.”

It was a bittersweet panel, as everyone was excited for the new episodes to air, but emotional due to it being the end. While Nicotero said “the journey has been absolutely life changing for me,” saying it’s going to be weird to not see everyone every morning going forward.

“I made some of my best friends during the show. It started off as such this pure little thing … and everybody had each other’s backs and it was such a pure thing. There was no Hollywood around us,” recalled Norman of the show’s humble beginnings. “It just grew into this huge show. But we held onto this core belief system of doing it for real and this sense of family … it’s not just our show, it’s our show. I kinda just wanna cry and make out with everyone in the room.”

“This whole experience has been amazing, out of this world, never thought it would become what it became for myself, for everyone else out here,” said McBride, getting choked up and wiping back tears. “There’s so much I want to say, it just gets stuck. This always happens. I’m just so grateful.”

A very blonde McDermitt, meanwhile, wondered why the hell he had to dye his hair to play Eugene over his run on the show, before reflecting on some of his favorite moments. His choice: When Eugene threw up on Rosita. “That was just fun to throw up on Christian [Serratos], because she was just miserable that day,” he added. The group also joked about the episode in which Eugene took a bite out of Dwight’s crotch — and how Reedus had a hot dog cart on set when they filmed. “I want everyone in the crew to put a weiner in their mouth,” McDermitt said, doing a Reedus impression.

Teasing the final episodes, Angela Kang said there will be “heavy conflict with the Commonwealth” with the show returns, while Nicotero promised they’re taking the show out “the best way we can.”

Despite the conclusion of the original series, fans won’t be saying goodbye to the TWD universe quite yet. AMC confirmed it has a spinoff show coming starring Reedus — one which initially costarred McBride, before she dropped out — as well as “Isle of the Dead” featuring Maggie and Negan (Lauren Cohan and Jeffrey Dean Morgan).

There’s also the anthology series “Tales of the Walking Dead” — which will feature stars including Terry Crews, Olivia Munn and Samantha Morton, returning as Alpha — and, of course, the Andrew Lincoln movies, which should also tie up some loose ends for Danai Gurira’s Michonne.

Source: Read Full Article