See Michael James Shaw as Mercer in The Walking Dead season 11 teaser

Unbelievably, the eleventh and final season of The Walking Dead arrives next month, and the marketing team is pulling out all the stops to build the hype for the last 24 episodes. Every Thursday leading up to the release, AMC is unveiling new teasers. So far, we’ve seen several stills, but they offered a short video this week, which contains a few interesting things comic readers will recognize.

The teaser features portraits of most of our fan-favorite characters looking menacingly into the camera. Sure, it looks pretty nice, although it doesn’t show all that much. However, there are a few moments to talk about.

Firstly, towards the end of the teaser, we get a glimpse of Michael James Shaw in costume as Mercer, the fierce de-facto leader of the Commonwealth Military, which protects the largest civilization our survivors have encountered up to this point. Mercer was a big presence in the Commonwealth story from the comics. Outside of his military work, Mercer also forms a relationship with Princess (Paola Lázaro). He’s wearing his trademark red armor of the Commonwealth military. The likeness to his comic counterpart is spectacular!

A first look at the Wall of the Lost in The Walking Dead season 11!

If you’ve never read the comics, you probably don’t know what the “Wall of the Lost” is. Quite simply, it’s a huge wall of photographs just outside the Commonwealth community. Residents hang up pictures of their long-lost family and loved ones in the hope that they may one day reunite.

Be warned, there are comic SPOILERS ahead!

In the books, Michonne finds a picture of herself posted on the wall, and eventually reunites with her missing daughter Elodie. Of course, Michonne left the show a while back, but we could still see a mirror of what happened to her in the books. One theory suggests that Daryl might find Leah (Lynn Collins) again after seeing himself posted on the wall. Leah was something of a love interest for Daryl during the extra season 10 episode “Find Me,” until she mysteriously disappears.

The Reapers are returning in The Walking Dead season 11

In a separate teaser, we get confirmation that the Reapers are coming to wreak havoc in season 11. So far, we’ve only seen one Reaper attack Maggie and her group in the season 10 episode “Home Sweet Home.” Ultimately, the Reaper was killed, but not before he uttered the ominous words, “Pope marked you,” which suggests there’s more to come.

This teaser shows a group of 11 Reapers. Whether there are more remains to be seen. The Reapers are entirely original to the show, so it’s not like we can look to the comics for clues about what they’ll do. Either way, it sounds like they will be a formidable foe in the final season.

The Walking Dead season 11 premieres on August 22, 2021, on AMC.

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