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"The Walking Dead" Offers First-Look at Spring 2020 Spinoff [PREVIEW]

With the cast and crew of AMC's The Walking Dead already in a deep-dive production-wise on the tenth season, life in the Walking Dead universe has become a lot like the NFL: neither have off-seasons anymore. With a strong ensemble cast (and a "Big Bad" fronted by Samantha Morton in an award-earning turn as Whisperers leader Alpha) and richly layered writing, series EP/showrunner Angela Kang did the near-impossible: made the show feel fresh and dangerous again.

Now we're getting a look at where the future of the franchise is going with the following preview for the new The Walking Dead spinoff series, set to debut Spring 2020. Over the course of a montage of sketches and concept art for the series, we learn that our four survivors realize that they've grown up protected – but have heard stories of what exists outside their protected walls. The foursome venture out beyond the walls of protection – to see the world as it truly is:

https://youtu.be/vP0UD2QKmEM

The third series in a franchise that includes global hit series The Walking Dead and Fear the Walking Dead will feature two young female protagonists and focus on the first generation to come-of-age in the apocalypse as we know it. Some will become heroes. Some will become villains. In the end, all of them will be changed forever. Grown-up and cemented in their identities, both good and bad.

Skybound confirmed earlier this month that the second The Walking Dead spinoff series (co-created by TWD CCO Scott M. Gimple and showrunner Matt Negrete and set to be directed by Jordan Vogt-Roberts) has cast Alexa Mansour (Madame Secretary), Nicolas Cantu (The Good Place), Hal Cumpston (Bilched), Annet Mahendru (The Americans), and Aliyah Royale (Major Crimes) to star in the next chapter of the Walking Dead universe, which follows two female protagonists with a focus on the first generation to come-of-age in the zombie apocalypse.

Mansour's character is a good-natured rule breaker who lives for today. She is likable and funny on the outside but sad on the inside. Cantu's character is small for his age in addition to being friendly and an old soul. He also has a black belt in karate. Cumpston's character is big for his age. He is a shy loner that scares some kids, but he hates the fact that he scares people. Mahendru has been cast in the role of Huck, while Royale will portray Iris – though not much else is known about their characters.

AMC's "The Walking Dead" Season 10

Here's our first official trailer for the upcoming tenth season as well as an overview of what we can expect when the series returns. As the war between our heroes and The Whisperers escalates, both sides must deal with issues of trust and fear from within…

The Walking Dead is a story that started 10 years ago with one man trying to find his family. That family grew and gradually communities took shape. They fought and survived, thrived and gave birth to a new generation. It is a tale of humankind and there are more stories to tell.

It is now Spring, a few months after the end of Season 9, when our group of survivors dared to cross into Whisperer territory during the harsh winter. The collected communities are still dealing with the after effects of Alpha's horrific display of power, reluctantly respecting the new borderlines being imposed on them, all while organizing themselves into a militia-style fighting force, preparing for a battle that may be unavoidable.

But the Whisperers are a threat unlike any they have ever faced. Backed by a massive horde of the dead it is seemingly a fight they cannot win. The question of what to do and the fear it breeds will infect the communities and give rise to paranoia, propaganda, secret agendas, and infighting that will test them as individuals and as a society. The very idea of whether civilization can survive in a world filled with the dead hangs in the balance.

Leading up to San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC) 2019, we learned: comic book character Dante will transition to the small screen; efforts are underway to bring Lauren Cohan (Maggie) back; big themes for this season will be propaganda, paranoia, and PTSD; Michonne's (Danai Gurira) in a "hot" situation in the season's first official image; Negan's (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) possible future; Eugene's (Josh McDermitt) connection to that mysterious voice on the radio at the end of last season; and that Lincoln will not direct an episode this season.

During SDCC, there were a ton of teases and news (and a sad announcement, which you can check out here) – and one of those announcements was American Beauty star Thora Birch joining the series in the role of Gamma, a Whisperer who is fiercely protective of Alpha. Kevin Carroll (The Leftovers) is set to play Virgil, a resourceful survivor who is desperate to get home.

AMC and Skybound gave fans their first look at Birch's Gamma – in and out of "Whisperer mode":

Speaking of "first-looks," Ross Marquand posted an image of his head clean-shaven. Biggest question: does this mean Marquand's auditioning to play Lex Luthor (watch out, Jon Cryer) – or is there more going on with Aaron that we realize? He looks a little too Whisperer-like in the image below…

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Now that we know Danai Gurira's Michonne is set to depart, there's growing buzz over Lauren Cohan's Maggie returning in some capacity – especially now that ABC's Whiskey Cavalier is officially over. Michael Cudlitz is back this season to direct – and an earlier post with Cailey Fleming (Judith) melted our hearts and reminded us that we do – in fact – have the capacity to feel. Cudlitz then followed-up that post with an image that got arenaline raging as he joined Norman Reedus and Morgan to reassure fans that "these fuckers are killin' it" in his episode:

The Walking Dead returns on Sunday, October 6, at 9 p.m. Fear the Walking Dead returns to Sunday nights on August 11 at 9 p.m., with production on the second spinoff series currently underway in Virginia.

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