‘The Walking Dead’ Season 3 Set Photos Reveal Return of…
We’re still a good four months before the premiere of ‘The Walking Dead‘ season 3, but it doesn’t matter how many looks we get at upcoming villains, new heroes, or preview events you throw at us. Like the hordes of the undead plaguing Atlanta, we’ll always be hungry for more. Still, there is at least one unspoken aspect of ‘The Walking Dead’s new season revealed on set this weekend that we’d like to give a hand to…
It’s Merle Dixon! Though we saw the character briefly in a hallucination of Daryl’s last season, the character is indeed alive and well, surfacing on the Georgia set this weekend. Actor Michael Rooker had previously been heard to say that he’d be back for season 3, but this is our first insight into what the real Merle has been up to since last we saw him.
Michael Rooker first appeared as Merle Dixon (brother to Daryl) in the series’ second episode “Guts,” before Rick and the others decisively left him atop an Atlanta roof to flee the walkers chasing after them. Rick and the others would shortly thereafter return at Daryl’s behest, only to find that in the time since the character had severed his own hand, and made an unseen getaway to parts unknown.
Now, the new photo reveals that Merle seems to have been taken in by The Governor’s camp (sitting in the same truck we earlier saw The Governor outside of), and utilizing some kind of menacing looking hook to replace his lost appendage. Rest assured that there was definitely a bit of subtext to the hallucinogenic Merle’s last words to Daryl, “Grab your friend Rick’s hand for me.”
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There are all of three things that will make ‘The Walking Dead‘ season 3 the most highly-anticipated yet for the AMC series, two of which we’ve glimpsed already. The first was the identity of that mysterious samurai-sword-wielding stranger appearing in season 2 finale “Beside the Dying Fire.” The second is the ominous prison seen just out of reach of our merry band of survivors.
The third? Well, govern your expectations. The biggest threat to the AMC survivors is yet to come, and we’ve got the first look at season 3′s dastardly new villain!
Before ‘The Walking Dead’ season 2 even drew to a close, AMC announced that British thespian (and personal friend to Andrew Lincoln) David Morrissey had been tapped to play season 3′s major villain, known only as ‘The Governor.’ Fans of the Image comics upon which the AMC series draws inspiration know the depth of The Governor’s malice, bringing an intense amount of curiosity to how Morrissey and AMC might interpret the role
Courtesy of TV Guide, we now have our first look! It’s…alright.
Purists may bemoan that Morrissey’s look as the character doesn’t share all that much in common with the comic character other than his clothing (they couldn’t even give him a mustache?), but we all know that AMC plays somewhat loose with their adaptation of comic canon. At the very least, we know fellow season 3 addition Michonne (Danai Gurira) looks spot on! On the subject of AMC’s adaptation of The Governor, ‘The Walking Dead’ creator Robert Kirkman has been heard to say:
The Governor in the show is definitely going to be The Governor in the comic. I think that he’s definitely going to be a character that people love to hate and are absolutely entertained by, but also somewhat terrified of. He’s definitely going to be a very important character and a very nuanced character. We are not going to be watering him down.
Previously, actor John Hawkes had been in talks for the role, and legendary horror makeup guru Tom Savini even publicly campaigned for the role, touting his physical resemblance to the comic character. As we can see from David Morrissey’s interpretation, grooming (and more or less, ethnicity) weren’t really a concern of the casting directors.
