The Walking Dead season 8's hour-long preview special contained some interesting information concerning Old Man Rick, Maggie's baby and more in the episodes that lie ahead. There are a lot of exciting new seasons of TV coming this fall, but one of the most anticipated is definitely The Walking Dead season 8. The zombie comic book-based TV show has always had its detractors, but the series remains the highest rated on TV for a reason - as it knows how to hook viewers both week to week and season to season.

The end of The Walking Dead season 7 of course left things poised for war, with Rick's group uniting with the forces of the Hilltop and the Kingdom and planning to take the fight to Negan and the Saviors on a massive scale. The All-Out War is a big deal in the history of the The Walking Dead comic book, and realizing it properly will be the next big test for The Walking Dead TV series.

Related: The Walking Dead Season 8 Features ‘Lots Of Killing’

As part of AMC's promotional push for The Walking Dead season 8, the network went and aired a hour-long preview special that looked ahead at what's to come on the show. Naturally, the special was hosted by Talking Dead emcee Chris Hardwick, and featured appearances by showrunner Scott Gimple and several The Walking Dead cast members. Via fan questions, Hardwick was able to get some interesting info about the new season from Gimple, on a couple different topics.

Walking Dead Season 8 Photo Rick Maggie

First off, Gimple revealed that Maggie's baby will not be born during season 8. He didn't hedge like showrunners often do, saying point black that the birth won't happen during the season. While it's never been specified exactly how far along she is, it's been at least a few months, so that suggests one of two things: either the entirety of The Walking Dead season 8 will take place in a fairly small number of months, or something bad happens that causes her to lose the baby. It's a morbid consideration, but The Walking Dead isn't exactly known for being nice to its characters.

Secondly, Hardwick brought up the fan speculation that Old Man Rick means Rick is simply waking up from his coma and the series itself has been a dream. Gimple dismissed the theory with no hesitation. Those who've read the comic will know that a time jump takes place after the war with Negan - and when that possibility was alluded to by Hardwick, Gimple encouraged the notion. Finally, it was announced that The Walking Dead's season 8 premiere - and 100th episode - will be immediately followed by a two-hour Talking Dead special, featuring multiple cast members.

NEXT: Can a Time Skip Revitalize The Walking Dead?

The Walking Dead season 8 premieres October 22 on AMC.

Source: AMC (via Comic Book)