The Walking Dead season 7: Everything we know so far from tonight's episode and spoilers to Negan's victim

It's been an unbearable wait but season 7 of The Walking Dead is almost here and the world couldn't be more excited - and terrified - to find out which character Negan killed.

In case you've forgotten, Negan - played by Jeffrey Dean Morgan - is the show's new antagonist introduced in season 6's closing moments as he bludgeons a character, whose identity is shrouded, to death with a baseball bat he refers to as Lucille.

To help you out, we've put together a comprehensive list of everything we know so far about the upcoming season, from new cast members and story speculations to air dates and the addition of a tiger (just you wait).

First, a quick reminder of who's in the running to be offed.

The premiere will drop on Sunday 23 October with FOX airing the episode the following evening at 9pm (best hide under a rock that day).

As is the norm, a mid-season break will follow after episode eight with the season's final run arriving in February 2017.

"The Day Will Come When You Won't Be." Sound familiar? That's because we've heard that line before - all the way back in the season 1 finale. To refresh your memory, the words were spoken by Dr. Edwin Jenner (Noah Emmerich) to Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) after the protagonist lets him escape the Centre for Disease Control before it explodes.

The season 7 premiere's synopsis chillingly reads: "Last season ended with Rick and our group kneeling helplessly before Negan and his group. What Negan does will haunt those who survive forever.".

As ever, one of the Comic-Con highlights was this year's Walking Dead panel which culminated - in typical fashion - with the release of a full-length trailer.

Following that, we've been treated to two brand new teasers.

Oh, and these sneak peeks - one which shows Savior member Dwight (Austin Amelio) both riding Daryl's motorcycle and wearing his jacket.

...and this extremely revealing one which heavily hints at who Negan's victim could be; watch at your own peril.

We don't know - and, we're in agreement with Abraham actor Michael Cudlitz; you don't want to know. What we do understand is that viewers will immediately find out who is on the opposite side of Lucille in an opening scene director and executive producer Greg Nicotero has claimed is making crew members swear a lot. You can find our initial predictions here, but with 11 different endings in the can, this has to be one of the best-kept secrets in television history.

The better question is...

We can at least address this one; thanks to an array of loose lips, set photos and an unhealthy dose of analysis, it seems fans can eliminate a crop of characters from being the one on the other side of Negan's beloved baseball bat.

First up, Grimes father--son duo Rick and Carl can be discounted considering Negan's words in the finale. It's commonly thought that Aaron, Rosita and Sasha can be discounted as they're just not important enough and would leave fans feeling cheated.

The actors who play Daryl, Eugene, Maggie and Michonne have all reportedly been seen on-set filming episodes further down the line (even though, The Walking Dead's been known to play around with linearity in the past).

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This leaves obvious candidates Abraham and Glenn - although maybe it's not as sure a bet as you're assuming. Cudlitz recently explained that fans will "...get to see what a world with Negan and Abraham both in it will be like," suggesting Abraham makes it past the premiere. Steven Yeun, who plays Glenn, recently appeared in a video with several co-stars wishing celebrity fan Selena Gomez a happy birthday; why would he be in Atlanta so long after being killed off, especially when he has multiple films on the horizon?

Basically, we're clueless.

In an interview with EW, Nicotero defended season 6's cliffhanger. "I would have still supported doing it the way that we did it, because of the fact that the story doesn't end there. If we would have shown the deaths, then they wouldn't have felt our characters in season seven the way they need to."

That's right: 'deaths.' Could we see two of the show's characters die at the hands of Negan in the opening episode? It would sure go against the code he abides by in the comics (he refuses to murder women, children and more than one person at a time). Rumours are circulating that - in a bid to bluff the audience - another death will occur away from the action surrounding Negan and at the setting of The Kingdom where Morgan (Lennie James) and Carol (Melissa McBride) find themselves at the end of season 6.

UPDATE: Jeffrey Dean Morgan has confirmed that his character will be responsible for multiple casualties in the opening episode alone.

The Walking Dead's regular cast is bigger than ever before with 20 people now comprising the list. This time around, there are four new additions: Austin Nichols (Spencer), Tom Payne (Jesus), Austin Amelio (Dwight) and Xander Berkeley (Hilltop Colony leader, Gregory).

The rest are as follows: Andrew Lincoln (Rick), Norman Reedus (Daryl), Steven Yeun (Glenn), Lauren Cohan (Maggie), Chandler Riggs (Carl), Danai Gurira (Michonne), Melissa McBride (Carol), Michael Cudlitz (Abraham), Lennie James (Morgan), Sonequa Martin-Green (Sasha), Alanna Masterson (Tara), Christian Serratos (Rosita), Josh McDermitt (Eugene), Seth Gilliam (Gabriel) and Ross Marquand (Aaron) - although we'll be scratching one of these off in under a month's time.

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Yes, and it could be your favourite. There's a new faction called The Kingdom (remember those people on horseback and dressed in armour? That's their turf) and a man named Ezekiel (Khary Payton) is its leader. Sitting alongside him is a tiger named Shiva who has been created using a mixture of CGI and animatronics. See, we told you he'll be your favourite.

While most of the characters are accounted for by season 6's end, one who's AWOL is Tara. Don't fear - it seems Alanna Masterson has been given a few episodes to herself, Beth-style. Then again, considering how things ended for Maggie's little sister, perhaps we should worry. In a collection of moments glimpsed at the end of the trailer, Tara can be seen looking very alone and very in danger. Reports suggest she'll run into an entire new bunch of characters with Masterson spotted filming "washing up on shore." Could this season be the first we move outside of Atlanta? Could this signal a crossover with spin-off Fear the Walking Dead? Considering that show's characters are currently in Mexico, we're very doubtful.

The arrival of Negan - and the ensuing death of a fan favourite - occurs in the graphic novels' 100th issue. It currently sits at issue 156. Creator Robert Kirkman recently revealed the original endpoint was the group reaching Alexandria Safe-Zone (which happened in the latter half of season 5) so, while we're beyond that, Negan's arrival certainly marks the start of a drastic new phase for the series. The only living characters in the comic books at this stage include Rick, Carl, Maggie, Michonne, Eugene, Jesus and Tara. Then again, Andrea's still alive and she was killed off back in season 3.

The short answer is: oh yes. Producers have been vocal about their willingness to continue The Walking Dead for up to 15 seasons. The Wrap reports that AMC president Josh Sapan has corroborated these reports likening the zombie series to Star Trek. He stated: "[The Walking Dead has] an incredibly long life left in it; we do think we have a franchise." Basically, if you're yet to catch up now is the time to do so.

The Walking Dead airs in the US on 23 October and will premiere in the UK the following evening at 9pm on FOX. Season 6 is released on DVD and Blu-ray on 26 September.