‘The Walking Dead’ Season 7B Spoilers: Andrew Lincoln Promises “Rebellion”; Epic Showdown Between Rick, Negan?

‘The Walking Dead’ season 7B is set to feature the return of Andrew Lincoln as lead protagonist Rick Grimes. Lincoln promised a rebellion in the next half of the season. It was speculated that the new episodes will feature an epic showdown between Rick and Negan.

The beginning of the new trailer for the return of AMC’s popular horror-drama television series features Rick (Andrew Lincoln) proclaiming, “Alexandria, the Hilltop, the Kingdom… Our communities have something in common: We all serve the Saviors.” It seems that the leader of Alexandria is slowly gathering up some courage to rally his allies together for an imminent uprising against the menacing Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), who used his power to terrorize their communities in the first half of season 7.

According to Comicbook.com, showrunner Scott Gimple teased that season 7B’s “vibe” will be wholly different from the first half of the season. He said, "I will say 7B's vibe is very different from 7A's vibe. The ending of 7B is very different than the beginning of 7A.”

He explained “Just the vibe in 7B, I was just talking about it with Andy [Lincoln] last night. It's just a very, very different half season than the half season that preceded it. Even with structure, what we're doing right now with the episodes and seeing where everyone is at, the structure is very, very different than the back half.”

Gimple added, “There's a lot more variety to the structure. It's just a very, very different situation, but 6, 7, 8 ... Wow, we're really close, aren't we? I would say the end of 7A is very different than the beginning of 7A. That's the thing that kind of launches that different tone of 7B."

According to Wet Paint, Rick may be able to successfully launch a showdown between his allies and Negan’s Saviors as the survivors work on battling oppression and making things right once and for all. Season 7B will feature new developments for many of the main characters including Rick, Daryl (Norman Reedus), and Carol (Melissa McBride).

During an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Lincoln teased, “What you'll see in the back half of this season is a more compassionate, considerate leader and a diplomat; somebody who is more cautious, free, liberated and lighter than [Rick’s] ever been.”

He continued, “In the back half of the season, Rick leads a group of people who are freed from shackles of oppression. They've been beaten so low that there's no further to go. In that, there's an almost joy in the fight again. You see a man being able to rebel again and even in that, you see a lightness and a charge that has been reignited in this man. He's had a lot of pride and impulsiveness beaten out of him this half-season.”

‘The Walking Dead’ season 7B is scheduled to return on AMC on February 2017.