Take a look at what lies ahead in The Walking Dead now that Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) is officially gone. This week's episode of the post-apocalyptic series revealed how the former-town sheriff-turner-ringleader said goodbye to his friends and family. But while fans won't see Rick on the small screen in the foreseeable future, his adventures will continue in a three-film series, which will be part of Scott Gimple and his team's plans to expand the franchise further.

On the small screen, The Walking Dead is moving forward with a potentially game-changing time jump that introduced fans to a slightly grown up Judith Grimes (Cailey Fleming). The show is expected to go through an unavoidable soft reboot following Lincoln's departure and a peek on what's to come can be seen in a newly released promo clip for the next few episodes of the show.

Related: Walking Dead: What Happened In Rick's Final Episode (& What's Next)

After learning how Rick is written out of the show, AMC didn't waste time to tease viewers on what's to come for The Walking Dead now that its main lead is no longer around. The clip features scenes from the next three episodes of the show: "Who Are You Now" (09x06), "Stradivarius"(09x07), and "Evolution" (09x08). The third outing will serve as this year's midseason finale and is expected to officially introduce the Whisperers, while next week's offering with debut some new characters. Watch the full video below:

The preview is packed with scenes previewing what the show's remaining key players are up to at this point. While it's difficult to make sense of some of them considering little is known about what's happened in the last several years since Rick's supposed death, there are a couple of takeaways from the trailer. A grown-up Judith, of course, is a standout, especially given how she interacts with the newcomers in their turf. Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), who remains imprisoned, interacting with her is reminiscent of Carl's (Chandler Riggs) dynamic with the fallen villain. With years of his life spent in isolation, not to mention the conversation he had with Maggie (Lauren Cohan) last episode, it's curious if Negan has genuinely mellowed and could finally be trusted.

Michonne (Danai Gurira) is still holding out hope that Rick is somewhere safe considering that they didn't find a body, while Daryl (Norman Reedus) appears to be living by himself in the woods, haunted by the supposed death of his friend. Finally, the clip also teased that the walkers are evolving - a narrative choice that could be a breath of fresh air to The Walking Dead as it's been quite a while since the show actually focused on the serious danger they pose to the survivors.

While it was admittedly difficult to see Lincoln part ways with the show, AMC seems to found ways to introduce new and interesting subplots in The Walking Dead that could invigorate the public's enthusiasm in the show. Of course, it still remains to be seen how they will handle the series moving forward, but if anything, the three-episode trailer poses some great potential for the post-apocalyptic show.

More: The Walking Dead's Big Twist (Not Rick) Changes The Show

The Walking Dead season 9 continues next Sunday, November 11th with "Who Are You Now" at 9:00pm/8c on AMC.

Source: AMC