The new season of "The Walking Dead" is less than a month away, and we'll be saying farewell to Rick soon.

Fans have been speculating that Rick Grimes was going to exit the show in the second half of season 9, but the new "The Walking Dead" season 9A titles that were released recently hint that he might exit the show sooner than expected.

Even though Rick Grimes (played by Andrew Lincoln) is going to leave the show soon, AMC is showing no signs of ending the show soon. There's still comic material worth 4-5 season remaining for the show to adapt.

Season 9 titles

According to Newsweek, the episode titles were revealed by AMC and The Spoiling Dead Fan Facebook page. The episode titles are for the first half of the upcoming season and give viewers many hints about what they should expect from the season 9.

  • EP 01: “A New Beginning” - First episode after the time jump. It is directed by Greg Nicotero.
  • EP 02: “The Bridge” - This episode might introduce us to all the new communities. It is directed by Daisy Mayer.
  • EP 03: “Warning Signs” - We might see conflicts between the saviors and the rest of the communities in this episode. It is directed by Dan Liu.
  • EP 04: “The Obliged” - The "Time to make some rules" episode. It is directed by Rosemary Rodriguez.
  • EP 05: “What Comes After” - Possibly a big episode because it is directed by Greg Nicotero.
  • EP 06: “Untitled” - Something exciting will happen because the title is kept secret. It is directed by Larry Teng.
  • EP 07: “Stradivarius” - Former actor Michael Cudlitz is directing this episode.
  • EP 08: “Evolution” - Introduction to The Whisperers is expected. It is directed by Michael E. Satrazemis.

Although only seven out of the eight season 9A episodes are titled, we might know why the title of episode six hasn't been revealed yet.

Lauren's exit

According to Metro, Lauren Cohan (who plays Maggie Greene) might have hinted what happens in the sixth episode of the upcoming season. Lauren will also be exiting the show, and while talking about the upcoming series, she revealed that she'd be appearing in the first six episodes of the upcoming series and then a lot of things happen in the sixth episode the season 9.

Currently, there's no information regarding the way Lauren is going to exit the show, but according to the new showrunner (Angela Kang), fans can expect amazing performances from the cast of the show in Rick's emotional exit episode.

There had been some rumors about Abraham Ford's (Michael Cudlitz) return to the show, but it looks like it's confirmed that he is finally returning to the show... as a director.

The seventh episode of the upcoming season has been directed by the actor himself, and we'll see how good the episode is once the series returns on Sunday, October 7.
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