Ross Marquand Likens ‘The Walking Dead’ Season 8 To ‘Die Hard’

Ross Marquand recently opened up about the first four or five episodes of “The Walking Dead” Season 8 and likened them to the 1980s film, “Die Hard.”

While speaking with Entertainment Weekly, the actor confirmed that the first few episodes of the hit AMC series are like “hour-long action films” that will feature some similarities with “Die Hard.”

“There are really sort of beautifully nuanced and realistic action moments. For me, that’s what I always like to go for. I like to go for realism interaction, and I think that we’ve struck a really good balance of the fantastical elements of the show with some really great just old school action sequences that I think are going to blow everyone away. I mean myself included. I was there for it, but seeing it all cut together is a totally different thing,” he said.

Meanwhile, Marquand also opened up about his character Aaron’s fate and hints at the possibility that he will explore his darker side in the upcoming episodes. In Season 7, a more positive and hopeful Aaron believed that there is hope he and Rick (Andrew Lincoln) could make some sort of accord with Negan (Jeffrey Deam Morgan).

But when this didn’t happen, Aaron will have a change in his mindset. “Now I think he’s squarely at the mindset that there is no hope for any sort of diplomacy. There’s no way you can negotiate with these men. The only thing they understand is violence, and unfortunately, for everybody, I think that they’re all squarely resolved to fight back in a big way, and Aaron is all too happy to join the ranks and to do just that,” he said.

Marquand also said that a happier Aaron will not be present in “The Walking Dead” Season 8. Initially, executive producer Scott M. Gimple told Marquand that his character will serve as a comedic relief for the series. However, the actor believes that there’s just been no room for such a storyline in the show.

“After that first episode from Season 7, it’s just been a downward spiral of just the most maniacal, crazy, violent things that you could possibly expect to have happened,” he said.

“The Walking Dead” Season 8 will premiere on AMC on Oct. 22 at 9 p.m. EDT.