Walking Dead Season 9 Casts Key Comic Book Character

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The Walking Dead season 9 already cast Samantha Morton as Whisperers leader Alpha, and now the show has added Cassady McClincy as Alpha’s daughter Lydia. The new cast additions come as the long-running AMC zombie drama prepares for a major shake-up, including the departure of series regulars Andrew Lincoln and Lauren Cohan.

Coming off a controversial season 8 that included the death of Carl Grimes (Chandler Riggs) - and ended with the capture of bad guy Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) - The Walking Dead will jump ahead in time for season 9 and depict a world in an advanced state of decay, where primitive technologies are increasingly important for survival. Season 9 will also include romance for Carol and Ezekiel. Multiple new characters are set to debut, even as two of the most important characters, Rick and Maggie, prepare to make their exits.

Another huge development for season 9 is the long-awaited arrival of The Whisperers, the bad guy group from the Walking Dead comics who walk among the zombie herds by wearing the skins of the dead. With Oscar-nominee Samantha Morton already in place as Whisperers leader Alpha, THR reports the show has now added Cassady McClincy as Alpha’s daughter Lydia. In the comics, Lydia becomes a love interest for Carl, but obviously that storyline won’t play out on the show, as Carl has already been killed off.
 

Newest TWD cast member McClincy has only been acting for a few years, but she’s already built up an impressive resume, including roles on the series Constantine, Good Behavior and Ozark. Currently, McClincy can be seen as Young Molly Strand on Hulu’s Stephen King series Castle Rock. McClincy also starred alongside Jennifer Garner and Josh Duhamel in the romantic comedy Love, Simon.

The arrival of McClincy marks yet another casting addition for Walking Dead as it prepares for life post-Rick Grimes. In addition to Lydia, the show will also introduce comic book characters Magna (Nadia Hilker), Kelly (Angel Theory), Connie (Lauren Ridloff, the show’s first deaf actress), Yumiko (Eleanor Matsura) and Luke (Dan Fogler). Long-time series star Norman Reedus (Daryl Dixon) becomes the show’s new lead with Andrew Lincoln’s departure. However, showrunner Angela Kang promises that season 9 will actually focus more on the series’ many female characters. In addition to the female-centric story focus, The Walking Dead is also expected to provide an answer about one of the series’ enduring mysteries: the significance of the letter “A.” All-in-all, season 9 is shaping up to be very intriguing, as major characters depart, major new characters arrive, and everything leaps forward in time to a whole new world with a new batch of challenges.