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The Walking Dead has cast an as-yet announced actor who joins the six new episodes extending the zombie drama’s tenth season into 2021. These pandemic-proof episodes, currently in production with strict health and safety protocols in place to combat COVID-19, are set before and after the survivors silenced the Whisperers in the original season 10 finale that aired October 4. Executive producer and showrunner Angla Kang describes these episodes as character-focused and smaller in scope and scale, taking deep dives into series regulars Daryl (Norman Reedus), Carol (Melissa McBride), Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), and Maggie (Lauren Cohan).
Joining them are new characters expected to return in the eleventh and final season spanning 24 episodes across two years, including one played by an actor Kang hints is especially well-regarded among adult viewers.
“We have some amazing directors, amazing actors. We just cast somebody that I think certainly those of us in this age range will be excited about,” Kang said during a virtual summit with other Walking Dead showrunners, whose ages are in the late 30s to late 40s. “It’ll be good.”
This somebody could be Elijah, a new character mentioned by Maggie in a sneak preview of Season 10 bonus episode “Home Sweet Home,” where Maggie sees Negan for the first time after her years away on the road.
It’s unclear if Elijah is the identity of the masked man who accompanied Maggie when she reunited with her old friends in “A Certain Doom.” More about this mysterious character, and Maggie’s journey on the road with Hilltop benefactor Georgie (Jayne Atkinson), will be revealed in the extended Season 10.
“She has seen some dark things on the road, and obviously, like when she comes in, she’s with this man in like a metal mask, and who is this fellow, what adventures have they been on? That’s all part of the story going forward, and it’s going to drive one of the major missions that we’ll start to see unfold,” Kang said in a previous interview. “It will lead us to meet some other interesting characters that will cross into some of the other major storylines of our series going forward.”
These episodes act as a bridge into season 11, which sees the survivors discover the existence of the sprawling Commonwealth civilization.
“The plan is to keep driving forward into season 11, like while everything is pumping for these six right now,” Kang previously told Deadline. “The writers’ room is hard at work planning the final big arc that will lead to the series end.”
The Walking Dead returns with six new episodes in early 2021 on AMC. For all things TWD, follow the author @CameronBonomolo on Twitter.