"The Walking Dead" fans did exactly what The Powers That Be wanted after watching the Season 8 trailer: Question what's going on with old Rick Grimes. We have our theories, based on Robert Kirkman's comic book, and Kirman himself said we'll know what the Rick image means right in the Season 8 premiere.

Kirkman talked about the Old Man Rick (in bed, with a cane close by) trailer shot after the AMC panel at the Television Critics Association press tour. Kirkman was asked about the time jump, and immediately started trolling:

"Or was it the time jump? I don't know, maybe it was Rick waking up from his coma. Wouldn't that be weird?"

Sigh.

"[Showrunner] Scott Gimple will give me very harsh words if I were to comment on that in any way, but you're supposed to be talking about that, and that is an intriguing tidbit that we did throw out there on purpose. We're hoping that people continue to question how that fits into the storyline and what it is. Comic book fans know where a scene that kind of looked like that would fall, but it also doesn't seem like we would be getting to that just yet. You'll just have to see."

According to EW, when asked if viewers will learn more this season about what the Rick image means, Kirkman replied:

"I'm pretty sure you'll learn in the first episode what that means."

Kirkman is rarely so forthcoming, so there are probably more twists and confusion ahead. Is it a flash-forward that will be straightforward in itself, or leave fans with more questions? Will it be tied to the comic book storyline everyone expects (but expects later, like maybe in Season 9) or was that a red herring?

TWD premieres Sunday, October 22 at 9 p.m. on AMC. FYI, the Season 8 premiere is also the series's 100th episode, so it's meant to be a humdinger.

[Via: Deadline, EW]

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