‘The Walking Dead’ Season 9: This Is The First Time The Logo Won’t Decay Further, And Here’s The Reason Why

Eagle-eyed fans of AMC’s The Walking Dead are always eager to see the opening credits for the hit zombie apocalypse series every year as the words slowly degrade away with each passing season. However, this year, fans will be surprised to notice that the logo for The Walking Dead will not decay further but, rather, improve significantly. And the series new showrunner, Angela Kang, says there is a reason for that.

Ever since The Walking Dead started, the title words in the opening credits have always remained the same. Except for one distinct feature. Every year, as the new season starts, the letters in the title degrade a little further from the previous season.

It didn’t take long for fans of the show to realize the degradation and comment on it, indicating that it was an interesting way to show how the degradation of society was eroding along with the words in the title. Others also pointed out that the decay was equivalent to that of the undead walkers in the series who have declined in “freshness” since the show started.

Now, as AMC heads toward Season 9, viewers have noticed a distinct change in The Walking Dead‘s title letters. While Season 8’s logo was extremely degraded, Season 9 is looking much fresher in regard to the lettering. In fact, it even looks like the decay has improved significantly.

Some were wondering about #TheWalkingDead’s new logo. Confirmed w/ AMC it WILL be the logo viewers see on the show’s opening credits this season. Showrunner Angela Kang gave us a short explainer on the logo change and what it means #TWDFamily ?? https://t.co/IJcYZo82Sx pic.twitter.com/oNjlCVWCNw

— Kirsten (@KirstenAcuna) September 6, 2018

While this image is not of the opening credits, but from key art images released by AMC ahead of the show’s Season 9 premiere in October, AMC has confirmed to Insider that this is what fans will see in the opening credits for Season 9.

In a statement to Insider from The Walking Dead‘s new showrunner, Angela Kang, it has been revealed that Season 9 will see an improvement in living conditions for the characters and this will be represented in the show’s opening credits.

“In previous seasons, the logo in the main titles was gradually decaying along with the world and the zombies in the show,” Kang said.

However, she also warned that while things were set to improve from a civilization perspective, it didn’t necessarily mean this was a good thing for the characters in The Walking Dead.

“The solid stone letters overgrown with greenery in the season 9 logo reflects the fact that we’re jumping into a new chapter of the story where our characters are rebuilding and nature is thriving — for better and worse.”

Season 9 of The Walking Dead will premiere on AMC on Sunday, October 7, at 9/8c.