Watch ‘Fear The Walking Dead’ Opening: Will Frank Dillane Be The Show’s Breakout Star? [Video]

Future fans of Fear the Walking Dead finally have something that will satiate their hunger for more TV zombies. AMC decided to give impatient Walking Dead fans a tiny taste of the FTWD series premiere in the form of the first three minutes of the first episode, and it’s a bit confusing — Frank Dillane’s character, Nick, already looks like he’s living in a post-apocalyptic world. However, looks can be deceiving.

As Rolling Stone points out, the Fear the Walking Dead clip above is reminiscent of the premiere episode of The Walking Dead. The original series began with Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) waking up from a coma and encountering the undead, and the new series begins with Nick Clark (Frank Dillane) waking up and running into a very fresh zombie. However, there are key differences. Nick is not in a coma — he was likely taking a nap after a long night of shooting heroin. And because Fear the Walking Dead begins before the world realizes that there’s a zombie virus outbreak, the abandoned church Nick is holed up in is likely a drug den in Los Angeles, not a shelter for survivors.

As you can see, Frank Dillane has a Captain Jack Sparrow thing going on with his slight stagger and ripped-open pirate shirt. He’s searching for a girl named Gloria, but he doesn’t like what he sees when he finds her. According to Comicbook.com, that milky-eyed maiden is played by actress Lexi Johnson, and she just might be “patient zero.” If this is the case, then maybe the zombie virus outbreak started with a batch of really bad drugs.

Nick’s drug habit will give him an interesting perspective as society slowly starts to crumble around him. Because he’s an addict, he’ll have a hard time believing his own eyes.

“My character is debating whether he’s insane or not,” Frank Dillane told Interview magazine.

It could be a very significant decision to open Fear the Walking Dead with a shot of Frank Dillane. Andrew Lincoln’s face was the first one viewers saw on The Walking Dead, and just look at how long his character has survived — perhaps Nick Clark will last just as long. However, as the Inquisitr previously reported, it seems more likely that Dillane will become the Norman Reedus of Fear the Walking Dead. He looks like a real ladykiller, and he told Entertainment Weekly that he’s already preparing to become TV’s next big thing. Luckily, starring in the Harry Potter movies (he played a young Lord Voldemort) has given Dillane an idea of what to expect.

“I was exposed to that kind of hysteria quite early on, so I kind of expect it. It’s not going to be a surprise at least. I don’t really like it, but I kind of expect it at least… I’m sure there will come a time when I won’t be able to, you know, walk around so easy sometimes, or it’s just things that I don’t necessarily want. I don’t really necessarily want to be famous. It takes away from the craft a little bit, but I think it’s part of the job these days, it seems to be.”

Fear the Walking Dead premieres August 23 at 9 p.m. ET on AMC. Do you think Frank Dillane will be the new series’ breakout star?

[Image credit: AMC]