In season after season of The Walking Dead, groups grow, new threats continue to emerge, and survival becomes riskier. The Whisperers left the communities with a sense of loss and grief that we saw in the penultimate episode, “The Calm Before,” in season nine. Surely enough, that starts a war between both sides as seen in the trailer. 

“A lot of the Saviors war was sort of a strategic back-and-forth that wound up in battles,” showrunner Angela Kang said. “Here, you’re dealing with a nomadic group that doesn’t have a headquarters, so that’s a different type of conflict. There are stories that have to do with the tensions that exist when you are sharing a border that one side does not agree with and that is causing them problems in their day-to-day.”

In preparation for this dangerous task, the survivors are training in different ways with new weapons. “We’re in a different time in the apocalypse. From the trailer, you can see that [our protagonists are] training with different kinds of weapons. They’ve kind of moved into a more forged/medieval style that the blacksmiths are making,” Kang said. “In this world, our people have the ability to manufacture bullets, but is that really the best use of resources or time, given that, when you’re dealing with a lot of zombies for the most part, you want something that’s reusable, that you can have in hand that’s hefty — quiet, too. Bullets are going to just draw more zombies. Our people have learned to fight in a different, more collaborative way.”

Executive producer Greg Nicotero directed the first two episodes of season 10 and affectionately refers to them as “pretty badass.” “The opening three minutes is unlike anything we’ve ever done. You’re not gonna be sure what show you’re watching for the first 30 seconds,” said Nicotero. “But it constantly challenges me, this show.”

The Walking Dead returns to AMC with an all-new season on October 6.