The Walking Dead season 7 episode 9 extended trailer sees Rick build an army against Negan

'There's a storm coming'

There's not long to go until The Walking Dead season seven returns from its midseason break, and the release of an extended promo sees the series' cast and crew waxing lyrical about what to expect from the concluding eight episodes.

The first run of episodes saw the group at the mercy of Negan and his violent clan of Saviours, with leader Rick (Andrew Lincoln) no longer the leader we've grown to know through the previous six seasons.

The closing moments of the latest episode saw Rick reassemble the fractured group in a bid to overthrow the Saviours, and going by the promo it seems he's enlisting help from several other surrounding communities including The Hilltop Colony and The Kingdom.

Cast members Lincoln, Danai Gurira (Michonne), Josh McDermitt (Eugene), Sonequa Martin-Green (Sasha) and Ross Marquand (Aaron) are among the talking heads seen in the clip, as are producer Gale Ann Hurd and showrunner Scott Gimple.

Morgan actor Lennie James teases the show's return, saying: “In the second half of season seven, there's a storm coming.”

Jeffery Dean Morgan, the man behind the villainous Negan, shows up at the end of the clip, saying: “What we're building towards the end of seven is Rick trying to emerge and find himself again and Negan is still there with a big smile on his face, waiting.”

In new footage from next weekend's episode, Rick can be seen pleading with King Ezekiel (Khary Payton) to help in the eventual war against Negan.

The Walking Dead returns in the US on February 12 and will air the following evening in the UK, 9 pm on FOX. You can find our definitive ranking of all eight episodes thus far here, as well as a preview of all the shows to look out for in 2017 here.