Updates from the Fear the Walking Dead WonderCon 2018 Panel

Updates from the Fear the Walking Dead WonderCon 2018 panel

We got a chance to check out the WonderCon 2018 panel for the upcoming fourth season of the AMC series Fear the Walking Dead. The panel was attended by Alycia Debnam-Carey, Danay Garcia, Colman Domingo, Lennie James (who is crossing over from The Walking Dead), and new cast members Garrett Dillahunt, Jenna Elfman and Maggie Grace, as well as the showrunners and Greg Nicotero.

We were told that everything is different this year. It’s a different situation and the relationships are different. Nicotero told us, “What’s exciting for me, I still can’t get over the fact that we’ve been doing this eight or nine years and we’re still coming up with stuff and surprising ourselves. There is some continuity between the two shows. Now that they live in the same universe. The walkers will be the one thing that is the most consistent. We really wanted to have consistency.”

Domingo talked about his character. “I’ve always said that Mr. Strand is a symbol of deconstructing capitalism… it’s complicated, why he does what he does. He was crumbling. Alicia showed up and he didn’t know what was going on. It’s offering a new possibility to be part of something like building a community. it’s not about him for the first time,” he said. “He’s testing out using his skills for the group survival.”

Debnam-Carey talked about Alicia this season. “She finally pushes back against being the golden child and being the strong one. She’s endured so much. She walked away at the end of season 3.” She talked about the big moment that showcased her being independent. “She’s become a leader in a sense, but we really get to see her find that. It’s a big development.”

Garcia said that her character is trying to find her path and that no one is really a villain in this series. Everyone is just trying to survive.

James joked about Morgan’s personality. “If he’s going to kill, he might as well kill everybody. If you’re not going to kill, then you shouldn’t kill anybody. I think one of the things that’s been really enjoyable about being on Fear, is exactly that. The lines do get blurred. Morgan’s existing… he’s not the buddy anymore. He’s now in a place where he has no history.” He said that Morgan can now decide who he wants to be. He also told the crowd that he’s still figuring things out.

Grace and the rest of the new characters couldn’t say much about their roles, though she said the cast couldn’t have been more gracious. “It’s terrifying to show up to a show of this caliber and jumping on board with not that much notice, and they were so welcoming and lovely.” She said of her character, “she is uniquely qualified to be a part of the apocalypse.”

Dillahunt didn’t reveal much about his character but said he’d been trying to get on the show for a while. Elfman said that one of her first scenes was a stunt and that she does as many as she can. She told everyone that she was nervous and that she spends a lot of time in epson salt baths between the stunts and the emotional scene work. She said that everyone in the show is dealing with trauma and that her character hadn’t dealt with it yet. She’s skittish, Elfman told us, and “she’s on the run.”

In season four of Fear the Walking Dead, we will see the world of Madison Clark (Kim Dickens) and her family through new eyes — the eyes of Morgan Jones (Lennie James), joining the story from the world of The Walking Dead. The characters’ immediate past mixes with an uncertain present of struggle and discovery as they meet new friends, foes, and threats. They fight for each other, against each other, and against a legion of the dead to somehow build an existence against the crushing pressure of lives coming apart. There will be darkness and light; terror and grace; the heroic, mercenary, and craven all crashing together towards a new reality.

Are you guys excited for the fourth season of Fear the Walking Dead? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.