Zombob's Zombie News and Reviews: All-New Photos From AMC’s Opening Episode Of Season 4 Of The Walking Dead: “30 Days Without An Accident”

You can feel it in the air, fall is fast approaching and with it comes the season premiere of AMC’s uber-successful post-apocalyptic zombie series “The Walking Dead.” On October 13th, AMC plunges head first into season 4 and they have just released a plethora of photos from the first episode titled “30 Days Without An Accident.“

The folks over at THR and SCREENRANT gave us the bullet points for Season 4 and this is what they divulged. Be forewarned, there ARE SPOILERS AHEAD. If ya wanna stay in the dark….with the zombies, don’t read ANY further:

Season 4 will feature a comics episode. While the upcoming season will remix material from the comics in different ways, executive producer Greg Nicotero said one episode this season is “almost verbatim” with an issue of the comic. Said Nicotero: “It’s really fascinating to make those slight departures, introduce new characters and then get to a situation where you take one episode and you really stick to the source material.”

Not all of the former Woodbury residents assimilate seamlessly into the new prison community. Producers teased that many of season 4′s conflicts will revolve around the old Woodbury group versus Rick’s (Andrew Lincoln) crew and that not everyone will be able to buy into the latter’s way of life. Co-star Steven Yeun (Glenn) also hinted that Rick may not be the same leader with the expanded group, saying: ”The community is growing and that mixes with the fact that there’s less of a dictatorship than there has been.”
Rick will focus on fatherhood first
Producers say the season three finale, where Carl (Chandler Riggs) questioned his father’s decision to let the Woodbury survivors into the prison, serves as the jumping-off point for the season. “He’s a man that is wrestling with a motor that didn’t work last season,” Lincoln says. “He’s trying to suppress the brutality for the sake of both of his children and trying to be a parent in an apocalypse and trying to return to the man he once was.” As part of that push, Rick has realized that the pressure of being the group’s leader has taken him away from being a father. “He focuses his energies on something that’s completely different but is still helping the people of the community,” he added, keeping mum on what his new focus is. Adds EP Dave Alpert: “He’s trying to find a way to add value and help and try to find a place for himself inside the community where he can do that without having to be the alpha male making all the decisions.… This is a very different Rick. How long that can last, however, is another question.”
Rick could lose a limb. In the comics, Rick loses a hand in an epic battle against the Governor (David Morrissey), which obviously hasn’t happened on the show yet, but that’s not to say it won’t sometime in the show’s future, according to executive producer Dave Alpert. Lincoln certainly wants it to happen soon. Said Lincoln: “I keep saying we should do it, so maybe that’s going to happen!“

The Governor will change. At the end of season 3, viewers saw the Governor go to the ultimate extreme and the events of last season’s finale will have a lasting impact on the character, according to Gimple who said: “It will weigh upon him and it will change him.” Morrissey added that season 4 is “about how he (the Governor) deals and comes to terms with the man he is and what he’s capable of and which side he’s going to fall on.”
A new threat will be introduced. Between the walkers and the Governor, it’s clear that Rick and co. already have plenty of enemies, but Gimple promised that a new threat will challenge the survivors in season 4. Said Gimple: “It’s someone we haven’t seen before. Someone unusual; you can’t stab them in the face, you can’t reason with it. It’s a force that would be dangerous in this world and in the world of ‘The Walking Dead’, it’s terrifying.”
The walkers will become more dangerous. As the series has gone along, its core group of survivors have learned how to adapt to their surroundings and dispose of walkers rather easily. Apparently, that could change in season 4, as Nicotero hinted that the zombies will pose a major threat, as they did in the first two seasons. Said Nicotero: “We’ve devised ways to put our characters in instantaneous jeopardy without them being prepared for it. Danger could come from anywhere, and it was really important that we re-establish the rules of our world.”
Season 4 will be split into two parts. As it has in the past, the show will split the new season into two eight-episode halves. Each half will contain its own story, but the path for the second half story will be set up in the season premiere, which will also unveil the new threat that was mentioned above. Of the premiere, Nicotero said: “It’s really the one episode of the season where there’s a little bit of lightheartedness before the s*** hits the fan.”
Michonne is on a mission. Kirkman says Michonne (Danai Gurira) is very invested in what happened with her late best friend, Andrea. “More than any other character, Michonne is driven to find the Governor and find out what’s going on with him; where he is, what he may be plotting and bringing him to justice.