The Walking Dead season 7 episode 9: Just who are this new mystery group?

*Major spoilers for season 7 episode 9 follow*

In the closing moments of The Walking Dead midseason seven premiere, Rick and his gang are surrounded by a mysterious new group ominously clutching weapons.

This is not the first time we've seen this group - only in the previous episode, the midseason finale 'Hearts Still Beating,' did viewers see an unseen figure spying on not only Rick and Aaron as they crossed the island on a boat to gather supplies, but on Father Gabriel as he took the Alexandria night watch shift.

Rick is prompted to return to the scene having discovered Gabriel wrote the word 'BOAT' in his bible before taking the group's food and weapons and driving off into the night.

But who is this dangerous-looking group?

The episode's director Greg Nicotero has shed some light on the situation in an interview with Entertainment Weekly: “We've teased this mysterious stranger that was at the lake and followed them back to Alexandria, so we don't know much about that group. We don't know if they’re good guys. We don't know if they're bad guys, but in the storytelling fashion of The Walking Dead, we always like to introduce these communities so that later they play a bigger part.”

In our five major talking points from the midseason finale, we predicted that this group would turn out to be the Whisperers, an entire new clan featured in the show's comic book counterpart. But it's also worth noting that perhaps they could be either a resurgence of The Wolves or even Oceanside, the collective Tara (Alanna Masterson) came across after being separated from Heath (Corey Hawkins) on their supply run.

Showrunner Scott Gimple has promised that the next episode will offer up immediate answers, teasing that “a whole new world is discovered.”

The episode, titled 'Rock in the Road,' was dedicated to a crew member who tragically passed away last year.

The Walking Dead's UK premiere is tonight (13 February) at 9pm on FOX.