The Walking Dead season 7 episode 9: Everything you need to know

Communities will collide when the series returns tomorrow

The remainder of The Walking Dead season 7 is inching ever closer and AMC has dropped fresh details on what to expect from the first episode back after the series' mid-season break.

Episode nine - which has been confirmed as a feature-length special - is titled 'Rock of the Road' and has a succinct synopsis: “Rick is introduced to a new community.”

Going by the first look attached to the midseason finale back in December, it's no stretch to assume that this new community is The Kingdom, the faction led by King Ezekiel (Khary Payton) and his pet tiger, Shiva.

The Walking Dead is not short on new communities at the moment with Oceanside - the clan discovered by Tara (Alanna Masterson) and Negan's Saviours - all loitering about. You can see the fresh batch of stills - featuring a newly-release Daryl (Norman Reedus) and reunited group - below.

Actor Andrew Lincoln previously teased that the next run of episodes features “a lot more levity” than the opening half which dished out traumatic moments aplenty thanks to new antagonist Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan).

AMC released a synopsis describing what to expect from the second part of season seven in general, a run of episodes Rick Grimes actor Andrew Lincoln compared to The Magnificent Seven.

Will somebody perish in the midseason premiere? Considering this same time last year saw the entire Anderson clan culled, it's a strong possibility. Fans are particularly concerned about the safety of two characters following the news that the actors who play them have been cast in other TV shows.

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.