Filming on the extended 24-episode eleventh and final season of The Walking Dead is now well underway. With the season introducing the massive, highly advanced community called the Commonwealth, we’re bound to encounter plenty of new characters. One of those is Mercer, the badass leader of the Commonwealth’s powerful military, played by Michael James Shaw.
Thanks to a production photo shared on Twitter, we’ve got our first look at the actor — who played Corvus Glaive in Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame — donning the signature red armor worn by Mercer in the comics. Excitingly, Mercer looks exactly like he’s stepped out of the page and onto our screens, so kudos to the casting director and the costume department. See for yourself:
FIRST LOOK at Michael James Shaw as the character of Mercer in Season 11 of #TheWalkingDead! pic.twitter.com/JZVgVdzLQi
— The Walking Dead World (@TWalkingDWorld) May 24, 2021
Mercer is an important character in the comics. A former U.S. Marine, he’s the de-facto leader of the Commonwealth military. He also has a relationship with Juanita Sanchez, aka Princess.
In “Splinter,” Eugene, Yumiko, Ezekiel and Princess encounter the Commonwealth military, and it doesn’t go well. What started as a trip for Eugene to meet up with a mysterious resident of the Commonwealth named Stephanie ends with our group being thrown into boxcars and interrogated. Clearly, these guys are not to be messed with.
Hopefully, Mercer shows more mercy to the group from Alexandria than the other members of the military. The episode ends as the soldiers have our survivors lined up with sacks over their heads.
Another “In Production” video from The Walking Dead season 11 teases a strange partnership
If there’s one duo in the entire Walking Dead franchise you wouldn’t expect to team up, it’s Maggie (Lauren Cohan) and Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan). However, in the latest teaser from the set, it appears as if that’s what’s happening. At least Daryl (Norman Reedus) is there to hopefully keep things civil.
A face-off between Maggie and Negan has been teased for a while. In the six additional season 10 episodes, the two exchanged multiple significant glances. Despite the tension, Negan ultimately decided to remain in Alexandria with Maggie, going against a warning from Carol (Melissa McBride).
During a TWD Universe stream on Twitch, AMC chief content officer Scott Gimple revealed that Maggie’s attitude isn’t solely about vengeance against Negan for what he did to her husband Glenn (and what he did in general): “It certainly isn’t just about that . She isn’t defined by that. It is some pretty crucial business, obviously the end of the episode seems to tell us that it’s nothing to sneeze at.”
The final season of The Walking Dead will be pretty epic, and dark, and bigger than ever! You can watch it when it premieres on AMC on August 22, 2021. Currently, Fear the Walking Dead season 6 is here to give us our zombie fix on Sundays.
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