“I remember thinking, ‘like!
This is not what I signed up for!'”
“Afterward,” Lincoln says, “Steven asks me, ‘Is this normal for Hollywood?’
CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT: Dylan Coulter for ew; Matthias Clamer for EW; Dylan Coulter for EW; Frank Ockenfels for EW; Dan Winters for EW
And I said, ‘Far from normal, my friend.
Far from normal.'”
“I’m my worst critic.
Matthew Welch/AMC
I kick my own butt.”
Kicking butt is something viewers can expect early and often from Michonne.
While Andrea embraces hope, Michonne senses trouble.
Frank Ockenfels for EW
“Michonne is trained to see all the stuff to be wary of,” says Gurira.
“She can see the Governor for what he is very quickly.
There are so many clues.”
Frank Ockenfels for EW
It’s what’s underneath that smooth, charismatic facade that is frightening.
“There is definitely the politician element to it,” says Morrissey.
“He assumes a position of power, which is almost religious in a way.
Frank Ockenfels for EW
He is the savior of these people.
That’s how he portrays himself.
“And people like me here!
Frank Ockenfels for EW
I’m popular!”
Merle’s intentions beyond living the high life, however, are cloudy.
“Deeper character development,” responds Lauren Cohan, also known as farmer’s daughter/zombie slayer Maggie.
Art Streiber for EW
You don’t say!
But they will look different.
You notice it the first time you walk on TheWalking Dead’s prison set.
Art Streiber for EW
Everything looks so damn…green.
That’s because the jail is now home to a thriving fruit and vegetable garden.
“We attempt to keep the crew and cast from stealing too much.”
Art Streiber for EW
(Judging by the “Always shut the gate.
The deer are eating our set!”
sign that hangs around the corner, it would seem humans are not the only thieves milling about.)
Dylan Coulter for EW
A makeshift stable houses Michonne’s new horse, Flame.
“He’s become Farmer Rick!”
says Lincoln with a laugh.
Dylan Coulter for EW
“I’m hanging with the pigs.
Nobody sat next to meI was like Pig-Pen!”
(Shippers, start your engines.)
Dylan Coulter for EW
More good news: They’re not stuck in a train car!
you’re free to’t help but feel it is not alone.
The man who plays Daryl stands at the ready, waiting for the director to yell “Action!”
Dylan Coulter for EW
And then, well…Norman Reedus decides to start flashing people.
For one thing, the zombie apocalypse is still in full effect.
(More on that in a moment.)
Dylan Coulter for EW
“We’ve gone into this room,” says Lincoln of the season 5 vibe.
“And it’s a very dark room, and it’s a very scary room.
And we’ve locked the door and you’re not allowed out.
Dan Winters for EW
We’re going to the other side now.”
“There’s really that question: Will she or won’t she buy the Eugene story?”
“That conflict could be a bit of a powder keg,” acknowledges Kirkman.
Dan Winters for EW
There is also that whole Rick-and-Carol reunion to worry about, after he exiled her from the prison.
“I can tell you that she is very certain with some of her feelings,” says McBride.
“And she’s got some mixed feelings.”
Dan Winters for EW
(Memo to Rick: Don’t start looking at any flowers, buddy.)
There’s an apocalypse!
Everyone’s dead and they’re walking around!
Dan Winters for EW
You have to go!!!'”
“Everyone is on the verge of giving up.”
Daryl, in particular, will have difficulty dealing with the loss of Beth.
Dan Winters for EW
All of which brings us to the big threat for the back half of season 5.
These are characters that have evolved into something that is probably unrecognizable to them.
And that’s something that’s really going to weigh on them.
Dan Winters for EW
I don’t want to be a monster.
What do we do?’
That is going to be a huge conflict for all of them individually and as a group."
Dan Winters for EW
He takes off for 20 yards, turns, and runs 20 yards back.
Then he does it again.
He does it through rehearsals, through first positions, through last looks.
Matthias Clamer for EW
He just keeps running back and forth, like some sort of deranged Forrest Gump with a broken compass.
The director yells “Action!”
and Lincoln kicks it into another gear.
Dan Winters for EW
But now he’s Rick Grimes, and he is not alone.
Zombies shuffle off dilapidated porches to his right and out of the woods to his left.
“fire up the GATE!”
yells Lincoln as he barrels at sprinting speed into a flesh eater.
“kick off the GATE NOW!”
Lincoln bobs his head to the music while intermittently yelling out “Action packed!”
EW
at nobody in particular.
Adds Lincoln, “We like to call the episode ‘Butch and Sundance.’
But the producers, after a few days of filming, started calling it ‘Bill and Ted’s.’
Art Streiber for EW
So I don’t know what they were seeing, but what we were filming was completely different.”
And this isn’t in the script.
You know, just two dudes being dudesshotgunning cans of soda in the zombie apocalypse.
Art Streiber for EW
But there’s a problem.
Reedus looks down to see blood on his right hand.
He’s cut a finger on the broken glass of the vending machine.
Art Streiber for EW
The actor scurries toward the crew.
Or maybe those spots aren’t so random at all.
Before long, his masterpiece is complete.
Danai Gurira as Michonne (Feb. 19/26.
2016)
From our cover story:The Walking Deadhas had its fair share of deranged bad guys.
The Governor kept a zombie daughter and killed his own men.
Gareth from Terminus ate people.
And the Wolves slaughtered others and mutilated themselves by carving the letter W on their own foreheads.
But when it comes to villains in theWalking Deaduniverse, one name stands above all the others.
Melissa McBride as Carol (Feb. 19/26.
“That people see them as old friends is not entirely true to the facts,” says James.
“The first time the two of them met, Morgan stuck a gun in Rick’s face.
The second time they met, Morgan tried to kill Rick.
So their relationship is a little bit more tumultuous than people remember it being.”
“That is 100 percent true.”
Don’t believe him?
“The scale of it is astonishing,” says Lincoln.
“It’s absolute mayhem.”
As for his wife, “the pregnancy makes Maggie more badass than ever,” says Cohan.
“In the sense of she will not take no for an answer.
“I had no idea there would be such a reaction,” she says with a laugh.
“My friends texted me and said it came up on their CNN newsfeed.”
(For the record, it should be noted that the comic-book version of Maggie has short hair.
Make of that what you will.)
“Are you getting f—ing uppity on me?”
he asks an Alexandrian.
Crew members watching the scene on monitors around the corner begin to chuckle.
He’s not done.
he asks on the next pass.
“How about a f—ing thank-you?”
he inquires on the next.
“I want you to say f—ing thank you!”
he commands after that.
Crew members at this point are holding in their laughter.
None of these profanity-laced ad-libs are in the script, and none will actually make it to air.
They ensure that high-octane Negan is always present and accounted for.
She mentioned that she was so saddened to hear that they all thought they were ugly.
And I do remember feeling that way myself growing up.
I didn’t have a Glenn.
I didn’t have someone to watch on television.
That’s the greatest honor that I’ve gotten to experience.”
Cover number 2 of our collector’s edition book featuring multiple cast favorites.
Ive enjoyed being on set more and working with all my friends.
Well, one thing they shouldnotexpect is for Maggie to give birth.
Because Im playing newly pregnant for areallylong time.
But the truth of the matter is its only been a matter of weeks since Negan killed Glenn.
I think there are, like, 10 explosions an episode.
Every time you turn around, somebodys shooting something or blowing something up.
Theres some serious action that I dont think weve seen on television sinceThe A-Teamwent off the air.
