The Walking Dead Showrunner Confirms Season 9 Time Jump

As though it needed any official confirmation, new showrunner Angela Kang has confirmed that there will indeed be a time jump in The Walking Dead when it returns for its 9th season, just like in its comic series counterpart. As reported by The Hollywood Reporter, Kang took the stage at an AMC press event aptly named "Kick-Ass Women of AMC" to discuss the upcoming season. Notably absent from the panel was any mention of exiting stars Andrew Lincoln or Lauren Cohan.

As for the larger scope of season 9, Kang wants to inject a fresh approach into the long-running series. "We're working on a season that has a really fresh look and feel," she explained. "We come in on some pretty fun stuff. I'm really focusing a lot on the core character relationships in the show that have kind of been long-lasting, as well as all of our wonderful series regulars." The mention of the series regulars is an interesting one, given that two of them are on their way out in the first half of the season, but getting these exits right will probably be a critical focus of the minds behind the series.

In addition to that, considering the panel's primary topic was the women of AMC, Kang made reassurances that she wants to do justice to the strong female characters on the show as well.

This is not too much to go on just yet, and it does fail to address our biggest lingering concerns about the future of the series, but a glimpse into the new showrunner's approach is certainly a welcome one. The Walking Dead will return later this fall and might be a bumpy ride, but we here at Dead Entertainment will be sure to keep you posted on all the latest.

About the Author

Chris Morse

Programmer by day, writer by night. Having grown up surrounded by plenty of horror movies and video games, it only made sense for Chris to combine all of these passions into one place: Dead Entertainment. Whether he's working on designs, tinkering with the platform, or just writing up the latest horror news, he's sure to be hard at work keeping the wheels turning on this website no matter what time of day it is. When not coding or gaming, you can find him donning a Cheesehead and heading to the Midwest to cheer on his favorite NFL team, the Green Bay Packers. #GoPackGo

More Reading

Weekly Horror News Round-Up November 7: The Walking Dead, Friday the 13th: The Game, Ghostbusters: Afterlife

Plus, Hulu pulls the plug on Castle Rock, the Resident Evil film reboot adds to its cast, Demon's Souls get a fancy character creator, and more.

Weekly Horror News Round-Up October 17: Friday the 13th, The Walking Dead, Day of the Dead

Plus, I Know What You Did Last Summer gets the green light, You adds to its Season 3 cast, and more.

Weekly Horror News Round-Up September 12: The Walking Dead, Candyman, Books of Blood

Plus, Scream 5 adds to its cast, get Freaky in a new trailer from Blumhouse, the original Friday the 13th is remastered to return to theaters, and more.

The Walking Dead Ending is the Most Exciting Thing About the Show Since It Began

Amidst cast and character attrition, AMC has made the smart move in opting to gracefully end the flagship show at a time that will make sense to the story.