The Walking Dead season 9 promo image released

AMC released a promo image for The Walking Dead season 9 ahead of the cast’s appearance at San Diego Comic-Con, and it reveals quite a few details.

The Walking Dead goes to Washington, DC in the first promo image from season 9. The image was released by AMC in conjunction with details about the cast’s appearance at San Diego Comic-Con  on July 20.

The new image, which notes that The Walking Dead season 9 returns in October, features Rick Grimes in front of the United States Capitol Building. The Capitol Building has seen better days (it looks a lot like it did after the tidal wave in Deep Impact) and is falling apart as birds fly away from it. But maybe the birds are leaving because of the HELICOPTER in the sky.

Joining Rick are Carol, Michonne, Maggie and Daryl.

Andrew Lincoln’s Rick Grimes looks a lot better than he has in a while. His beard is trimmed and he looks more like season 1 Rick (albeit with more grey in his beard) than the Rick of seasons 7 and 8.

Maggie’s hair is a lot longer than it was in season 8, suggesting that time has passed since we last saw her. She’s also not pregnant. Carol’s hair is still short, Michonne looks about the same, and Daryl still needs a shower, so aside from Maggie and Rick, things look about the same with everyone else in the image.

It’s worth noting that there are three women and two men in the photo, a nod to new showrunner Angela Kang’s plan to focus on the women of The Walking Dead in season 9. The promo image also shows representation from the Kingdom, the Hilltop and Alexandria, and we might assume that one of the characters is leading things at the Sanctuary as well. 

Next: 5 things we want to learn at The Walkind Dead SDCC panel

The Walking Dead cast will appear at SDCC on Friday, July 20. Fans can expect to see a trailer for the new season released during the panel, which should offer some clues as to what we might see in season 9.