Long-running fan favourite Maggie Rhee (played by Lauren Cohan) finally made her stunning return in the season finale, A Certain Doom.
However, her reintroduction just in time for the final season of The Walking Dead was overshadowed by her mysterious, masked companion.
Decked in a white hood and metal mask and wielding dual blades, TWD fans immediately went online to wildly speculate who they could be.
Luckily, it seems the formidable new warrior to the fold will be on Hilltop’s side, as they saved the life of Father Gabriel (Seth Gilliam) when they made their debut.
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Due to the stranger’s expert combat skills, some comic book aficionados have proposed they could be Mercer, a ruthless soldier of Commonwealth in Robert Kirkman’s original series.
However, current showrunner Angela Kang shut down these rumours when she touched on what the finale will mean for season 11.
Speaking to Business Insider about episode 16, she definitively confirmed: “It’s not Mercer.”
Luckily, filming for the additional six episodes of season ten, and the upcoming final season, is in full swing.
While it will take some months before the new episodes are fit for broadcast, Kang’s comments reassured fans their patience will be rewarded.
In the meantime, Reedus has been chatting about how the pandemic has impacted the story of the zombie epic’s upcoming instalment.
The Daryl star said: “We really get into the heads of the characters more than a giant situation where you’d have thousands of zombies on top of you and people screaming and running,
“It’s more character-driven, because of COVID, it’s kind of changed the dynamic a little bit. Also, I think after such an epic battle at the end of this season I think you need some breathing room.”
TWD is infamous for its massive crowd shots featuring both determined survivors and approaching hordes of the undead.
Obviously, these sort of set pieces are no longer possible without large-scale coronavirus testing and restrictive health and safety measures.
After Hilltop’s epic battle with Beta (Ryan Hurst) and the Whisperers, season 11 could go back to basics before the series reaches its grand finale.
The Walking Dead will return in 2021 on AMC and Fox.
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