‘Walking Dead’ Season 5 Spoilers: Showrunner Scott Gimple Teases Different Locations And Tone

Is it October yet? “Walking Dead” fans still have to make it through the summer before Season 5 of the hit AMC series airs, but showrunner Scott Gimple has the cure for those suffering from walker withdrawal – spoilers!

Gimple recently spoke about the insanity of Season 4 and what lies ahead for Season 5 with iTunes audio podcast, “The Walking Dead ‘Cast”. And while some fans might not want to know anything too “spoiler-y” about the upcoming season, the showrunner kept his scoop nice and simple.

“I guess I can say, from a vibe point of view, the first eight of Season 4 were one thing, the second eight were something very different,” Gimple cautiously dished. “These next eight are going to be something very different again.”

For “Walking Dead” fans who don’t remember, the first eight episodes of Season 4 dealt with the virus that swept through the prison and the Governor’s return for revenge. The virus was a big game changer for viewers because the only threats before that came from walkers and humans. But this time the survivors were fighting an invisible battle that not only threatened the sick, but the healthy as well. As for the Governor? His attack on the prison set Rick’s gang off on a very different, yet exposing final eight episodes.

Completely separated for the first time since the walker hoard passed through Hershel’s farm, the survivors didn’t know who made it out alive or where everyone was headed. Instead of trying to reconvene at a location or go back to the prison, the split up groups focused on finding shelter, food and weapons to survive. But as fans saw, that didn’t exactly go well. Discovering the signs for Terminus, everyone eventually headed down the railroad tracks for the “sanctuary.” The group (except for Beth, Tyreese, Carol & baby Judith) ended up reuniting in the Season 4 finale. But unfortunately the “sanctuary” turned out to be a potentially deadly new threat.

“Things are going to have a much different tone and a much different practical reality moving forward,” Scott Gimple continued. “The season has a number of shifts of location, and even of a tone. But the tone for the most of the season is very, very, very intense.”

“Walking Dead” viewers may have gotten their first look at the “much different tone” during the Season 4 finale when Rick went all Rambo on Joe’s group of marauders. Breaking out his crazy eyes, Rick bit off a chunk of Joe’s neck and did a little slice and dicing with another man who tried to rape Carl. But what really signaled the change in the former sheriff was his final lines of the episode after getting locked in the train car at Terminus: “They screwed with the wrong people.”

Kind of looks like the humanity switch might be getting turned off this season.

As for locations? Fans have been speculating for a while now about where the AMC series could move. With the introduction of Abraham, Rosita and Dr. Eugene Porter, the Alexandria Safe-Zone might be on the horizon.

Whatever may happen in Season 5 is a mystery for now, but Gimple promises fans that the series is about to go through a “big shift.”

[Click HERE to read the full interview with Scott Gimple transcribed by Comic Book Resources.]

What do you think will happen in Season 5? Do you think the Alexandria Safe-Zone will be introduced? Let us know your thoughts and theories in the comments section or send a tweet to @AmandaTVScoop.