‘The Walking Dead’ Season 9 Set Photos Tease a New Community

“The Walking Dead’s” two-and-a-half season-long war with Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) is finally over. So far, it’s the longest storyline that the hit AMC zombie show adapted from the comics. The war lasted for a couple of episodes, even leading some to drop out of the show entirely because of how the narrative dragged on. But nothing could ever prepare us for the finale episode, titled “Wrath,” and how it set up the future of “The Walking Dead.”

Most eagle-eyed fans believe that the show’s new antagonists will be The Whisperers, a group of survivors who masquerade as Walkers by wearing their skin and speaking in hushed voices—hence the name—to avoid detection. During Rick’s (Andrew Lincoln) speech about a “new world,” he points out to a valley where an enormous group of Walkers gathers. This scene led many to believe that it’s only a matter of time before The Whisperers come in.

‘The Walking Dead’s’ new community

However, well into the second half of season 8, fans were acquainted with a new character—Jayne Atkinson’s Georgie. No backstory was introduced, and the only thing we know about her is that she is very intelligent and has the resources to rebuild the world after the outbreak. Georgie then left Maggie (Lauren Cohan) a book containing blueprints to make a new civilization. That’s the only time we saw her, though.

So the question remains: will we see The Whisperers or a new community for “The Walking Dead” Season 9? This seems to be highly likely, but according to a batch of images posted on Twitter, the show’s ninth season seems to hint at introducing Georgie’s community called The Commonwealth. Georgia Court of Appeals Judge Carla McMillian and WSB-TV News Reporter Richard Elliot both shared a couple of photos that seem to hint at the residence of The Commonwealth:

Scene outside the Judicial Building where the Walking Dead is filming. Photos taken to impress my kids. pic.twitter.com/LbWR8DcwNT

— Justice Carla Wong McMillian (@JudgeCarla) May 2, 2018

Zombies at the State Capitol? No jokes please. A production company is shooting some scenes for The Walking Dead inside the Rotunda.

BTW, parts of Mitchell St will be closed again for filming this week. pic.twitter.com/WfmdbovhD6

— Richard Elliot (@RElliotWSB) May 2, 2018

Who are ‘The Commonwealth’?

Again, if we go back to “The Walking Dead” comic books, Georgie draws strong resemblance to the leader of a group named The Commonwealth. This is a recently-introduced group of survivors made up of the formerly rich and powerful. They also happen to live in an abandoned Capitol Building like the ones shown above.

The Commonwealth operates like the usual political structure that the pre-zombie apocalypse world did—the rich and powerful get the high political positions while the not-so-fortunate are left to do the menial, dirty work for their community. And since it’s a new group in the comics, it’s unclear if The Commonwealth is a threat to Rick and his people or not.

Not much is known as to how “The Walking Dead” season 9 will kick off, but what’s suggested by these photos and the introduction of Georgie is that the new season will definitely feature her community. Maybe they can also be the ones to help Rick build the “new world” that he’s been teasing his group. And with Carl’s visions of a thriving Alexandria, a partnership with The Commonwealth is sure to happen.

“The Walking Dead” Season 9 returns this fall.