The Walking Dead Season 9 Photo Finally Shows The Whisperers

The Whisperers are coming. It's something we've known for a while about The Walking Dead and, thus far in Season 9, we've gotten lots of teases for the new villains on the show but have yet to actually meet any of them. Well, that changes now.

AMC has released new key art for the show's return in February, which prominently features new cast member Samantha Morton as Alpha, leader of the Whisperers. If she doesn't look too familiar in the image below, there's a reason for that. The Whisperers are unlike any other force your favorite survivors have come up against before. They move among the walkers by wearing the skin of the dead over their own. Yes, it's as disgusting as it sounds and GameSpot will have plenty more details about the new group as we get closer to the mid-season premiere.

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However, in living among the walkers, it brings the Whisperers a kind of freedom many in this horrible world don't have. It seems they don't necessarily fear the dead, which is a powerful trait to have.

A plot description of the show's return reads, "The second half of The Walking Dead Season 9 finds our groups of survivors, both old and new, continuing to deal with the impact of events that took place during the six years that have passed. Since the disappearance of Rick, many of these characters have become strangers to each other, and in some ways, strangers to themselves. What they do know is that they are in undeniable danger. They will soon realize the world just beyond does not operate as they thought. The group’s rules and ways of survival no longer guarantee their safety. A whole new threat has crossed their paths, and they soon discover it's unlike any threat they have encountered or endured before. The group will start to question what they think they see. What may appear to be normal in this post-apocalyptic world could actually be more disturbing and terrifying than when the apocalypse first broke out. All that is certain is the stakes are high and numerous."

Morton won't be alone in leading the group. Sons of Anarchy and Bates Motel alum Ryan Hurst has also joined the cast as Beta, her second-in-command. Together, these two will lead the Whisperers as they attempt to take out the survivors in Alexandria, Hilltop, and the Sanctuary.

Unfortunately, it'll be some time before we find out how successful they are. The Walking Dead returns Sunday, February 10, on AMC.