TV Goodness Reports: The Walking Dead Begins Production for Season 5 

Well, the time has finally arrived, folks! Production for season 5 of The Walking Dead has officially begun, and as of Friday the majority of the cast have returned to Georgia. According to the Twitter accounts of TWD cast members, Norman Reedus (Daryl Dixon), Lawrence Gilliard Jr. (Bob Stookey), Chad Coleman (Tyreese Goldstein), Steven Yeun (Glenn Rhee), Chandler Riggs (Carl Grimes), Michael Cudlitz (Sgt. Abraham Ford), Christian Serratos (Rosita Espinoza), Alanna Masterson (Tara Chambler), Danai Gurira (Michonne), Lauren Cohan (Maggie Greene), Emily Kinney (Beth Greene), Sonequa Martin-Green (Sasha) and Melissa McBride (Carol Peletier) have all arrived. Andrew Lincoln (Rick Grimes) and Josh McDermitt (Dr. Eugene Porter) had already been there for several days.

One cast member notably absent was Andrew West, who was just recently cast as Gareth, the alleged leader of Terminus. But just because he hasn’t checked in, that doesn’t mean he won’t be in the premiere. In fact, given West’s big presence in the finale and that both Scott Gimple and Robert Kirkman have said that Gareth will be a major character going into season 5, we are certain that he will have a large role in the premiere in October. The season 4 finale of The Walking Dead ended with all of Rick’s group being reunited at Terminus, with the exception of Carol, Tyreese, Judith and Beth.  But Terminus didn’t turn out to be what it promised, and the entire group ended up locked in a train car labeled “A.”  We still don’t know for sure what Terminus is, but there have been strong hints that the Termites may be practicing cannibalism. If Terminus turns out to be a home for cannibals, that would have been in line with the comic book series, since the next major arc would have been the “Fear the Hunters” storyline. Scott Gimple and Robert Kirkman have neither confirmed nor denied that Gareth and Terminus=Fear the Hunters from the comics.

  Photo from deleted scene in season finale…ewww:

If you are a devout fan and want to keep an ear close to what is going on with the filming for season 5, here are some people you definitely should follow on Twitter:

1. Josh McDermitt (Dr. Eugene Porter) — @JoshMcDermitt
   If I had to pick a single cast member to follow on Twitter, Josh would definitely be it. He is constantly tweeting photos from the set and he is very good about answering fans’ questions just as long as you aren’t pushy. Oh, besides being an actor, Josh is also a stand-up comedian and you can count on his tweets to be quite entertaining. Below is a photo he tweeted this past week, being transformed into the sexy mullet man before filming begins.
   
2.  Norman Reedus (Daryl Dixon) — @wwwbigbaldhead
   This is a no-brainer. Norman loves to tweet from the set, and so if you want the latest 411 on what’s coming up for season 5, follow this guy.
3. Chase Vasser — @NeverStop_CV
   Chase is a former UGA football player and it was just recently announced that he will be joining The Walking Dead for season 5. It still is not known what character he will play or when he will be making his first appearance, but this tweet from April 18th may give us a clue:

              “Oh snap just got offered my first Vilan role. #sopumped #soblessed. Should I do it?”

If “Vilan” should have been “villain,” he may end up being one of the baddies in season 5.  Scott Gimple has made clear that while Gareth is someone that is “very dangerous,” he’s not going to be the villain in the upcoming season. Under normal circumstances and given Chase’s muscular physique, I might have guessed he could be Negan. But, given the fact that Negan and his Saviors are so far off timeline-wise  in the comics, I honestly can’t see this happening. Either way, because he is not familiar with neither the television nor comic book series, he may have inadvertently tweeted some potential spoilers. The biggest example is his infamous #cannibaltwist tweet from last month, which he ended up deleting. From where I’m standing, this was either a PR stunt or the strongest indication thus far that we are dealing with cannibals at Terminus.

The season 5 premiere of The Walking Dead airs on October 12th at 9/8c on AMC. Keep checking back here at TV Goodness for the latest scoop on season 5, as well as San Diego Comic-Con coverage in July.