The Walking Dead season 8: release date, trailer, spoilers, cast, plot, photos, episode titles - everything we know so far

**Warning: Possible spoilers for The Walking Dead season eight below**

The countdown to a new season of The Walking Dead never truly stops, but excitement for season eight has officially clicked into the gear.

While season seven didn't end on the biggest cliffhanger in TV history (here's looking at you, season six), there's still plenty to discuss before the premiere episode - the series' 100th ever - rolls around.

To help you out, we’ve put together a comprehensive list of everything we know so far about the upcoming season, from story speculation to air dates and how to watch.

Read our spoiler-free review of the season 8 premiere here

Release date and how to watch

The Walking Dead season eight's confirmed air date is 22 October in the US on AMC with the UK premiere arriving the following evening (23 October) on FOX. It'll also be available to watch on NOW TV (with a 14 day free trial). On 20 September, it was announced by AMC that the premiere will have an extended runtime of 67 minutes.

US network AMC officially ordered an eighth season of the drama before its previous run of episodes had even begun.

Network president Charlie Collier said: "What a joy to partner with Robert Kirkman, Scott M. Gimple and some of the hardest-working people in television to bring The Walking Dead to the fans. And, most important, thanks to those fans for breathing life into this remarkable series right along with us."

The new season will begin a mere week after successful spin-off series Fear the Walking Dead - a recent episode of which seemed to confirm the long-gestating theory that TWD exists in the same universe as Breaking Bad - ends its current run.

What have we seen so far?

Two official stills have been released, one showing original characters Carol (Melissa McBride) and Daryl (Norman Reedus) fresh from their tearful reunion last season, and the other featuring the newly-motivated Rick (Andrew Lincoln) chatting war tactics with Maggie (Lauren Cohan).

As expected, a deeper look at the forthcoming season arrived at the 2017 San Diego Comic-Con in July in the form of an extended trailer which provided a larger glimpse at the war to come. Most notably, the trailer ended on a moment which had all fans speculating: an older version of Rick can be seen, hospitalised and bearing a cane, at an uncertain time in the future all but confirming season eight will feature a time jump.

There's also this brand new clip which surfaced at New York Comic-Con showing Carl attempting to kill a walker among dilapidated cars at a disused petrol garage - in a mirror image scene to Rick in the first ever episode -

How many episodes?

Season eight seems to be keeping with the same format held by previous seasons - eight episodes airing from October to December 2017 followed by a three-month hiatus. The concluding eight episodes will air from February 2018 bringing the overall episode to 16.

Production ground to a halt last month following the tragic death of stuntman Joseph Bernecker after he fell over 20 foot from a balcony, hitting his head on concrete. Tributes to the stalwart were led by the show's cast - including Reedus, Cohan and Austin Amelio (Dwight) - as well as showrunner Gimple.

A few cast members have been hyping the season premiere which will be the show's 100th: Chandler Riggs (Carl) - who tweeted his excitement about the episode's script.

Andrew Lincoln himself, when asked about the 'Old Man Rick' twist, stated: "It will become somewhat clearer after the October premiere. Then again, it may not be. It maybe still is somewhat opaque. I think that that's possibly all I can say on the matter."

Who's returning?

Currently, all characters seen in the season finale are expected to return bar Sasha (Sonequa Martin-Green) who met a grisly end in the season seven finale, almost taking the Saviours' leader Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) with her. With the war now in motion, it's a sure bet not all of these are going to last and certain off-screen events may have hinted at who could be biting the dust in season eight.

One character whose future was thrown into doubt directly after the season seven finale was Eugene (Josh McDermitt) who seems to have moved to the dark side and become one of the Saviours. Following the episode, Gimple said:

“[Eugene] said he’s Negan in front of everybody,” Gimple told Variety. “He has still not found the strength to get over his fear. He’s still Negan after seeing everything Sasha is doing. I don’t think it looks good for Eugene.“

Another character who may be in danger is Morgan due to the fact that actor Lennie James is heading brand new Sky Atlantic series, Save Me.

Following the cancellation of 24: Legacy, lead actor Corey Hawkins - whose fate as TWD character Heath was left uncertain - could make an appearance in time for the war against The Saviours.

Could Glenn be returning? While unlikely, considering he had his brains bashed in by Negan in the season six opener, actor Steven Yeun expressed interest in showing up in a future flashback much in the same way Abraham actor Michael Cudlitz did in the season seven finale.

Yeun said: “I wouldn't want anybody to force anything but if it makes sense, then I am totally down.”

The new characters

For the forthcoming season, the series has cast two new male characters that will join forces with Alexandria in the war against Negan. First up, there's Dillon who's described as “a sexy, blue-collar 20-something whose survival skills include sarcasm.” Then there's Abbud who's described as “an innately likeable Muslim American whose nerves are jangled, because he's flown solo for too long in zombieland.”

While unconfirmed, The Walking Dead obsessive Maria Bello (A History of Violence) hinted that she could be joining the show. She revealed: “I have a friend who's a producer on it and I've asked them to write me a part, which apparently they are for next season.” Time will tell.

What can we expect?

The rather-lengthy official season eight synopsis (see below) hints that the entire season will span the All Out War segment of the graphic novels with Lincoln confirming the season will pick up exactly where the last one left off.

Gimple has also made it clear: All Out War will end in season eight. He told EW that the battle against Negan "...will absolutely be resolved by the end."

It reads: “Last season, Rick Grimes and his group of survivors were confronted with their deadliest challenge yet. With the comfort of Alexandria, they let their guard down, only to be reminded how brutal the world they live in can be. Feeling powerless under Negan’s rules and demands, Rick advocated the group play along.

“This season, Rick brings “All Out War” to Negan and his forces. The Saviours are larger, better-equipped, and ruthless – but Rick and the unified communities are fighting for the promise of a brighter future. The battle lines are drawn as they launch into a kinetic, action-packed offensive.

“Up until now, survival has been the focus of Rick and our group, but it’s not enough. They have to fight to take back their freedom so that they can live. So that they can rebuild. As with any battle, there will be losses. Casualties. But with Rick leading the Alexandrian forces, Maggie leading the Hilltop, and King Ezekiel leading the Kingdom – Negan and the Saviours’ grip on this world may finally be coming to an end.”

Immediately after the end of season seven, showrunner Scott Gimple previewed the “mind-melting” events to come following climactic events which left Sasha dead and Rick's war against Negan in full flow.

“It's going to be bigger. It's going to be more intense. I say these things and I've meant them every year, and I think we've actually accomplished that. This year, same thing. More intense. The first four episodes will melt people's minds and break their televisions.”

It seems producers have taken dwindling viewing ratings into account with a change of the series' pacing - Gimple has hinted that fans should expect a more “kinetic” season with a “breakneck” pace - to the delight of most fans, the “deep dives into characters in single episodes” are a thing of the past.

The Walking Dead season eight airs 22 October in the US on AMC with the UK premiere arriving the following evening (23 October) on NOW TV (with a 14 day free trial) and Fox

Follow Independent Culture on Facebook