AMC's 'Tales of The Walking Dead' anthology spinoff debuts full trailer at SDCC 2022

The Walking Dead extended its undead reach at San Diego Comic-Con today with the release of an official trailer for AMC's anthology spinoff: Tales of The Walking Dead. 

Appearing on the show's panel in the fabled Hall H (attended by SYFY WIRE), executive producer and TWD brand manager Scott Gimple explained that Tales, which arrives next month, was the direct result of questions posed by fans over the years: "What is happening here? What is happening there? Can we see past characters?" he said, listing the various queries posed by viewers. "We wanted to evolve the existing stuff on The Walking Dead that the people dug and then we wanted to invent brand-new things. This show was originally [envisioned as] specials, but then we decided to tell this anthology series." 

Appearing at a press conference later in the afternoon, Gimple summed up tales in one word: "variety." Director Michael E. Satrazemis described each chapter as "short, concise little films that have a beginning and an end. It's very rewarding, it's more theatrical."

Tales is overseen by showrunner/executive producer Channing Powell, a veteran writer and producer on the main series. "In writing for The Walking Dead for so many years, it's based on an incredible IP and a lot of the characters are already made," she said. "You're kind of coming into something and seeing if you can get their voice down and adapt to that. You're always secretly wondering, 'What would I do if I was in the apocalypse or my friends were in the apocalypse?' So I was excited to sit down with my writers' room and think, 'What have I not written on the show before? What have I not seen in this world before? What might give Scott a heart attack? What will he be ok with?' I tried to push the boundaries, but also stay within what fans really like."

Watch the trailer now:

"I promise you are going to love what we put down," added Terry Crews, who kicked off the Hall H panel by ripping open his shirt and flexing his pectoral muscles to the delight of the crowd. Judging by the new trailer, the Brooklyn Nine-Nine alum looks to be playing a paranoid survivalist in his anthology segment that also stars Olivia Munn.

Jesse T. Usher (The Boys), Poppy Liu (Better Call Saul), Parker Posey (Lost in Space), Daniella Pineda (Jurassic World Dominion), Anthony Edwards (Top Gun), Jillian Bell (Godmothered), Danny Ramirez (The Falcon and The Winter Soldier), Loan Chabanol (Fading Gigolo), and Embeth Davidtz (Old) co-star.

While the anthology offered the network a chance to introduce brand-new characters, one installment does center around a pre-Whisperer Alpha. Samantha Morton — who returns to play the villain (called "Dee" before she started rocking the latest zombie skin fashion) — admitted that there was no hesitation on her part. 

“I was so gutted when Alpha died. [It] was the role of a lifetime ... And then I got the call that this was gonna potentially happen [and] I was more than excited. Because I'm 45-years-old and as an actress and as a woman, the roles kind of change in television and film. You're making the tea or you're the wife — they can be rubbish. And so, to me, this was the role of a lifetime. [I was excited by] the idea of thinking about what made Alpha, Alpha. Who is she? Who are the Whisperers? What is this all about? I just wanted to know. Even if they didn't make it, I was like, 'What happened?!'"

In addition, the actress hinted that fans might see Alpha in a new light once the episode airs. “For those of you that know a little bit of the flashbacks in The Walking Dead, they were Lydia’s flashbacks, so we don’t know if they were true or not.”

Powell alluded to another connection to the wider universe beyond the inclusion of Alpha. "We peppered in a little bit of something that true fans might recognize. They might not, but we weren't too overt about it." Despite the fact that this Easter egg only appears for a "couple of seconds," according to Gimple, it still lays the groundwork for "a giant other mythology."

The panel was quickly followed by a video message from  Fear the Walking Dead actor Lennie James (Morgan Jones), who apologized that he and the rest of the cast members could not be present at Comic-Con. Production on Season 8 of the spinoff is about to kick off.

Tales of The Walking Dead shambles onto AMC Sunday, Aug. 14 at 9 p.m. ET. The first two episodes will be available on AMC+ the same night.

Click here for SYFY WIRE’s full coverage of San Diego Comic-Con 2022.

If you're looking to satisfy your zombie craving immediately, head over to Peacock and check out the movie that kickstarted the entire genre: George A. Romero's Night of the Living Dead. Or check out the SYFY original series, Day of the Dead.