Kirkman, Lincoln talk 'Walking Dead' Season 6 premiere
Spoiler alert: This story contains details from Sunday's Season 6 premiere of AMC's The Walking Dead.
They came so close.
Rick Grimes, his not-so-merry band of survivors and the residents of Alexandria teamed up on a smart plan to detour a quarry full of walkers away from their walled community in the Season 6 premiere of the AMC drama on Sunday.
It almost worked, but instead of being saved by the bell, they were harmed by the horn, which sent the noise-sensitive zombies trudging toward Alexandria.
Fans will have to wait to learn about the horn, why it sounded and who, if anyone, may have been behind it. Don't rule out another enemy lurking in the woods: the vicious human Wolves who confronted Morgan last season but were absent from the first episode of the new season (Sunday, 9 p.m. ET/PT).
Executive producer Robert Kirkman wouldn't say who might be behind the horn, but he didn't rule out the Wolves.
"After Season 5, they were definitely a threat that's looming on the horizon," says Kirkman, who calls the new season "our most intense yet."
Sunday's final moments will influence much of the coming season, says Andrew Lincoln, who plays the emotionally and physically battered Rick.
"You're left in the last 30 seconds with this real cliffhanger. The last 30 seconds propel the next eight episodes," says Lincoln, who adds that horn and other questions "will be answered imminently."
Rick & Co. will face internal and external problems.
"Not only do we have the wranglings of leadership and the power struggle within Alexandria but there are two or three other huge threats that face the community as well," Lincoln says.
Rick's killing of walker-bitten foe Carter (Ethan Embry), whose screams threaten to break up the walker parade, will have ramifications, Kirkman says.
"Carter is a great foil in Alexandria for Rick," he says. "That death will resonate. That will keep people questioning Rick moving forward and it will definitely inform some decisions as the story progresses."
Rick also must take the measure of his long-lost friend, Morgan Jones (Lennie James), who arrived in Alexandria at the end of last season, just in time to see Rick execute another resident. Each is in a far different state than when they last met in Season 3.
Morgan and Rick "have such a shared history and respect and sort of love for one another because they hold each other's history in their memory," Lincoln says. At this point, "It's a game of cat and mouse. It's these two men trying to work out who the other man is. It's also a useful way for the audience to check in with where Rick is at through Morgan, because he's asking all the right questions."
James finds the Morgan-Rick relationship intriguing. "At the point when we meet them, their ideologies could seem like they're in conflict. There could also seem like the possibility of a compromise and that's one of the things Season 6 is going to explore," he says.
Morgan, who has lost his wife and son, must also adjust to living with other people after spending so much time on his own.
"The hard thing for Morgan is about being in a position where he has to make decisions for other people. He has not necessarily acquired that skill. Rick is the master of it," James says.
The many cast members will be in close proximity in coming episodes, Kirkman says."We have a lot of episodes that focus on individual characters but, by and large, our massive cast is actually in a group working together, co-existing more often in this season than they have in any season past.".