Sneak Peek the first official extended footage, more new images and story updates from executive producers Robert Kirkman and Gale Anne Hurd, for the currently filming Season 4 of AMC's "The Walking Dead", debuting October 2013:
"There's going to be a bit of a time jump," said Kirkman about the new season, kicking off with the premiere episode "30 Days Without an Accident", written by new showrunner Scott M. Gimple and directed by Greg Nicotero.
"Some time has passed between season three and season four. It's only a few months, but we're not nailing down the exact number of days or anything like that.
"The prison that we see is a very different prison and the characters that we see are very different from the last time we saw them.
"We go into season four with characters you've known for four years and still find new things to explore with them and new aspects of their character and see that they are growing and changing in extremely dramatic ways due to the strains that this world has put upon them."
Details about other new episodes, include Episode #4, titled "Indifference", with two survivors named 'Jack' and 'Erin' added to the regular cast. Jack is a described as a 'joker', while Erin "...walks through life with rose-colored glasses..."
Episode #6 titled "Rise" features more new characters including a single mother and former nurse named 'Laura', a tough, funny woman named 'Melody' and an older man named 'Don' (Danny Vinson) who has a granddaughter.
Episode #7, titled "Dead Weight", will introduce the brothers 'Mack' and 'Patrick'.
"We're not going to slow things down," said Kirkman about Season 4, "but if I had a criticism of Season 3, it would be that we didn't focus on character development.
"We're going to try to step it up a notch in that department. We're going to focus on fewer characters per episode."
Hurd said to expect more "ravenous" walkers.
"It is the people who you think you can trust who betray you, that you have to fear," said Hurd. "It is the monster inside you. We all have them. How do we keep them in check?...
"You never know who is going to, you know, who is going to be the one who's had enough. Like, 'Shane' saw 'Rick' as a threat to their survival. He's not the only one who's going to have those feelings."
"This is the moment where Rick takes a turn," said Kirkman. "He's no longer going to be pushing people away, he's no longer going to be doing whatever he can to protect these people in ways that hurt other people. He's not going to be the guy who would leave that guy on the side of the road — like the backpack guy in Episode 12.
"He's letting the people of 'Woodbury' in and trying to tell 'Carl' that these people are like us, you have to be open to this and the only way to survive in this world is to have people and be in a community. That's going to be a big part of Season 4."
"'The Governor is still out there with 'Shupert' and 'Martinez'," said Hurd. "They’ve still got significant firepower. If they go to Woodbury, at this point, Woodbury’s not as protected as it used to be. I think everyone was traumatized by what happened, and I think they feel safer in the prison."
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"We've been saying that no one is safe on this show," said Kirkman, "and I wouldn't rule out seeing the death of 'Rick Grimes' at almost any point. We really like to keep people guessing, and I could definitely see some interesting stories coming from that. While Rick has been a pretty solid leader, he's definitely made his share of mistakes.
"I think seeing 'Daryl' or 'Maggie' or 'Glenn' picking up a larger leadership role in the group could pose some interesting story possibilities."
Click the images to enlarge and Sneak Peek "The Walking Dead" Season 4...
