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The Walking Dead season 8: Lennie James reveals the one thing more dangerous than Negan - exclusive

The threat of the undead reigns despite the oncoming war with the Saviours

Jacob Stolworthy
Thursday 19 October 2017 05:00 EDT
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The Walking Dead: Official Comic Con Season 8 Trailer

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The Walking Dead season eight is almost here (read our spoiler-free review) with the threat of Negan looming larger than ever - however, one cast member has warned viewers of the bigger danger the characters should not be forgetting about.

Ahead of the premiere episode, we spoke to British actor Lennie James - who plays Morgan Jones - who stated that one of the eighth season's most exciting aspects is “the danger of the walkers.”

With the battle between Rick and the villainous Negan poised to bring explosive action to screens around the world, it becomes easy for viewers to forget that these characters are actually still surrounded by hordes of the undead desperate to tear them limb to limb - asking if we should forget about them as a threat, James said: “No, we really shouldn't.

“One of the things that’s most exciting about this season is the danger of the walkers - it’s forthright front and centre all over again.

Teasing how they'll be incorporated into the forthcoming season, he said: “There are some fantastic walker encounters. They’re used as a weapon a lot in the battles. They’ve not been ignored in season eight - and on a number of occasion they are the difference between winning and losing.”

With the show set to air its 100th episode this Sunday (22 October), it's a relief to hear the team behind the series have continued to find creative ways of bringing these zombies to screen after eight years.

Lennie James as Morgan in 'The Walking Dead'
Lennie James as Morgan in 'The Walking Dead'

We also asked the actor - who briefly appeared in Blade Runner 2049 - about his views on whether the group could survive without Rick following the intensifying rumours suggesting the character may soon die.

“Yes. I do,” James said. “I think that anything is possible as this show’s proven over and over again. It’s managed to carry on without Glenn. It’s managed to carry on without Abraham. It’s managed to carry on without a number of characters you thought the show couldn’t survive without, so it’s possible, yes.

“Do I think it’s something I would necessarily like to see? Absolutely not.”

The Walking Dead season eight airs on 22 October in the US on AMC with the UK premiere arriving the following evening (Monday 23 October) at 9pm on FOX and NOW TV.

You can read our spoiler-free thoughts on the premiere here.

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