The Walking Dead (Season 9) (2018)

“We're not just fighting to survive anymore. We're making a new beginning.” — Rick Grimes

A ruined, decomposing world picked clean by those who remain, harshly rendered frame by frame. Out of that decay comes something new, driving he carrion-eaters away, holding them at bay... for now. For its ninth and latest season, AMC's much beloved horror series The Walking Dead received a revamped title sequence. This completely new introduction – in both style and setting – sets the stage for the next chapter of the post-apocalyptic zombie saga – and the exit of one of its major characters.



Like its predecessors, The Walking Dead's new title sequence remains infused with the requisite levels of dread and doom. Composer Bear McCreary's iconic theme, a key ingredient in conveying that mood to viewers, survives another day, as do the fleeting shots of objects belonging to the show's survivors – Rick's revolver, Daryl's bike, Negan's bat, Michonne's sword – all now overgrown with vines. Time has passed, the situation has changed. Eagle-eyed fans will surely note the many easter eggs peppered throughout the new sequence, portentous details like a sheriff's hat in a graveyard, a waiting noose, and a helicopter's flight. But the new opening isn't simply a litany of winks and nods for the coming season, it also communicates something that may be slightly unfamiliar to Walking Dead viewers after eight seasons of terrible fear and suffering: a feeling of hope, a sense that this could be a new beginning for the titular group of survivors. Maybe.



Produced by London-based Huge Designs (now the third studio to take on title design duties for the hit AMC series), the season nine intro is the most significant stylistic update the Walking Dead's main titles have ever received. Gone are the vignettes of suburban catastrophe and wandering terror. In their place is a focus on one central location: the Alexandria Safe-Zone – a walled-off community offering refuge from the walkers at long last. Working closely with showrunner Angela Kang and The Walking Dead's producers, Huge drew inspiration from not only from the show's previous main titles and the ongoing comic book series upon which the television drama is based, but also pulled from unexpected sources, like an icon of gothic fiction and the work of a beloved stop motion wizard. With those disparate elements combined, The Walking Dead's new title sequence acts as a turning of the page for the show's characters and signals a creative resurrection of sorts for the long-running series.

A discussion with The Walking Dead showrunner ANGELA KANG and post-production supervisor RYAN DEGARD, and title designers TAMSIN MCGEE and PAUL MCDONNELL of Huge Designs.



The Walking Dead’s title sequence has remained relatively unchanged since the fifth season, so I suppose the most important question is why did the production team decide to commission a new title sequence for season nine?

Angela: Creatively, season eight was conceived as the closing of the first chapter of The Walking Dead story. Season nine opens a new chapter, in line with the time jump that happens in Robert Kirkman's comic books. Chief Content…

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