"This finale is about closure," showrunner Scott Gimple told The Wrap. "It's about closure of the All Out War storyline, but in some ways, this is a closure to the first eight seasons of the show."
He added, "Season 9 is going to be unlike things people have seen before on the show. And it really is going to take on a very, very different vibe — a very singular vibe unto itself."
The finale appears to be a final, conclusive showdown between Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) and nemesis Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan). But what happens after that? This season already departed from Robert Kirkman's comic book storyline — Rick's son, Carl, isn't dead in them, as he is on the show. Will the show introduce the Whisperers, the next big bad in the comics, or veer into a completely unknown direction?
Gimple said the finale will "set the stage to start some very new stuff: very new challenges for the characters, very different kinds of stories, in different kinds of situations, a real evolution of the show."
He teased the upcoming storylines have "very very unusual and sort of new drives."
"People are going to see there's a lot more story to tell," Gimple promised.
