Despite all of the controversy surrounding recent seasons of 'The Walking Dead' and decisions made in regards to the story, fans are still cautiously positive about what's to come now that Angela Kang is stepping in as showrunner on the series' upcoming ninth season. Taking over from Scott Gimple, Kang is working on what she describes as a "new chapter" for the comic book adaptation, as the series will go through a time jump and move towards seeing Andrew Lincoln exit the series and retire the leading character of Rick Grimes.

Lauren Cohan's role will be reduced in 'The Walking Dead'Lauren Cohan's role will be reduced in 'The Walking Dead'

Not the only major character to be bowing out, we know that we'll at least see Lauren Cohan in a reduced capacity, with Maggie Greene's future up in the air. Having picked up the lead role in another show following a very public battle for an equal wage to her male 'Walking Dead' counterparts, Cohan may also be forced to wave goodbye to the 'Walking Dead' universe.

Fortunately, Kang seems to be the perfect person to move everything forward, and ensure that 'Walking Dead' fans are entertained by whoever we'll be watching on the small screen.

Teasing the new season of the show with EW, Kang said: "We’ll explore what happened as man made objects and structures break down. Infrastructure like roads and bridges are changing and crumbling. And we’ll also explore what happens as resources are getting low. There’s a fun Western vibe that has emerged. We are going into a period where a lot of the things that we’ve seen in previous seasons have broken down, so they’ve got these horses and carriages that are being drawn around instead of cars. Things are lit with oil lamps. People are using different kinds of weaponry. There’s a real grittiness to it that I think will be fun and fresh for the viewers."

Along with the time jump, we'll be seeing an entirely new location of Washington, D.C. when new episodes of 'The Walking Dead' debut. Hopefully, with all of these major changes, there will be some exciting times ahead for audiences.

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'The Walking Dead' season 9 is expected to premiere on AMC in the US and FOX in the UK this coming October.