It wouldn’t be Comic-Con without a huge panel for The Walking Dead. On Thursday of SDCC 2018, incoming Walking Dead showrunner Angela King held court in Hall H alongside many of the show’s cast members, including the soon-to-depart Andrew Lincoln. It’s become a tradition for a new Walking Dead trailer to drop during the panel, and this year did not disappoint. The first look at season nine offered a glimpse of Alexandra in rebuilding mode, Negan taunting Rick from behind bars, and, more ominously, the first look at the Whisperers! Today’s special edition of Nerdist News is quietly bringing you the early word on The Walking Dead‘s latest villains.

Join senior editor Deadly Dan Casey as he explains who and what the Whisperers are. If you wanted to call them the world’s most dangerous cosplayers, you wouldn’t be wrong. The Whisperers are a group of people who figured out how to hide themselves in plain sight among the zombie hordes by taking the walker skins and wearing them as a disguise. The Whisperers can even weaponize the walkers by herding them in specific directions.

What does this mean for Rick? In the comics, the Whisperers have a habit of killing main characters and leaving their heads on pikes as a warning for their enemies. It would be a huge departure from the comics to have Rick become one of the Whisperers’ victims, but it would also firmly establish them as the show’s ultimate big bad. Think about it: they could succeed where the Governor and Negan both failed. That would take season nine into some potentially uncharted territory.

What do you think about the first look at the Whisperers? Let us know in the comment section below!

Images: AMC/Skybound