Scott Gimple, the outgoing showrunner of The Walking Dead, has been chatting about the future of the show. Angela Kang is taking over as showrunner for The Walking Dead season 9, and it sounds like Gimple – who is transitioning to more of an overseer role at AMC – is impressed with her plans.
In a brand new interview, Gimple said this about what’s in store for The Walking Dead season 9:
“The show will evolve in a huge way. [The characters will] be dealing with things we haven’t seen them deal with before, and dealing with each other in ways that we haven’t seen before. What [the writers] have planned … it just feels new. It feels like an evolved show. [The past eight seasons] very much lived in the world that Rick began with. It was so informed by the pilot. It just takes this quantum leap forward in the stories we’re telling.”
Rumour has it that this ‘quantum leap forward’ will include a time jump that spans numerous years. Many believe that the show will jump forward in time in a big way, picking up in a future where the decision to save Jeffrey Dean Morgan’s Negan, made by Andrew Lincoln’s Rick in The Walking Dead season 8 finale, is old news.
Asked if his ‘quantum leap’ phrase refers to a time jump, Gimple simply said this: although he may have made “A time jump tease,” events won’t play out “exactly as we expect.” Gimple may not be the showrunner anymore, but he’s still got a knack for those mysterious soundbites.
The Walking Dead will return in the autumn, and we’ll bring you more news as we hear it.