The Walking Dead Panel At SDCC Was Full Of Fun, Glitter, And An Evil Twin Named Karen

The Walking Dead panel at Comic Con is usually a pretty big deal, and this year it did not disappoint. In fact, unless you are the type that was strictly fixated on who Negan killed, this was the best panel all con long. Chris Hardwick, of course, was the moderator and he immediately introduced the Season 7 trailer before the cast and crew were even on the stage. I believe they did this to instantly quell rumors that they’d be discussing or spoiling who died by the hands of Negan and Lucille. The trailer did an excellent job at building up the suspense of who might get the beating, while still giving us a look into what some of the other characters are encountering.

If you have not seen the new season 7 trailer, click here.

There was a great deal of excitement and buzz around the introduction of Ezekiel and his tiger companion Shiva, and rightfully so. After the trailer was shown, Chris Hardwick introduced the cast and producers, in no particular order: Scott Gimple, Robert Kirkman, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Andrew Lincoln, Norman Reedus, Danai Gurira, Steven Yeun, Chandler Riggs, Lauren Cohan, Christian Serratos, Josh McDermitt, Sonequa Martin-Greene, Michael Cudlitz, Ross Marquand. Jeffrey Dean Morgan made the best entrance, as he strolled out with Lucille slung over his shoulder, and immediately launched into his Negan monologue.  As he continued to give his monologue, he made it downstage to Chris Hardwick and told him, “You can blink, you can cry, hell, you’re all going to be doing that, or you can get on with the moderation.”

Hardwick jumped right into a sort of long-winded explanation of how many fans were disappointed with the how season 6 ended and he specifically asked the panel, “is it worth the wait?”  They unanimously said yes, and a few went into some detail as to how much the start of season 7 affected them. It was a somber and intense 9 days of taping for all involved. The panel did a good job of making things light-hearted and fun. At one point, Scott Gimple was discussing the fact that you will see more of Carol and Morgan in the Kingdom now that the group is splintered. Instead of saying Carol, he slipped and said Karen and without missing a beat said jokingly, “Yes you will see Karen, Carol’s twin sister.” Everyone got a chuckle and Chris Hardwick ran with the Karen jokes too. The jokes didn’t stop there though. Andrew Lincoln and Norman Reedus talked about how they love to play practical jokes on each other. It started with the glitter bomb Norman made Andrew Lincoln’s car into (Check that out here). Andrew talked about driving home that day and how people were calling him sparkles and glitter boy now. He went on to say that his children asked what “Nanny Norman” had done? He said he humiliated your daddy and with that he turned to Norman with a huge handful of glitter and blew it toward his face but it backfired. Thanks to the intense heat from the day and Lincoln’s intense Rick Beard, the glitter stuck more to his face, and he turned back towards the audience with a sparkly gold beard. It was super good laugh had by all and selfies ensued. I laughed uncontrollably when Chris Hardwick said it looked like Norman and Andrew made out in a Michael’s.

What was evident throughout the whole panel was the cohesiveness and the sense of family among the cast. They shared who could do the best impressions. Michael Cudlitz and Ross Marquand did a pretty entertaining Rocky and Mikey Goldmill. Sonequa Martin-Greene explained how Michael Cudlitz helped bring her breast milk to the fridge while she pumped. It really felt like a family reminiscing  after a major death or loss  in the family. There was a big dark cloud over the cast but that didn’t stop them from engaging with their fans and answering questions even from this adorable little Negan.

All in all, this was the perfect buffer in between seasons and I’m really glad I got to get my fix before The Walking Dead returns in October.