A brand new comic favorite is about to enter the TV show version! Read on! The third season of The Walking Dead will be 16 episodes — three episodes longer than season two. We also got some MAJOR SPOILERS here:

A new character, Michonne who is described as a “mysterious member of the survivor group” might be introduced soon. “Armed with a [Japanese sword] and the deadly skills to complement it, Michonne is an effective and crucial defender of the survivors.”

Creator Robert Kirkman responded, “That’s not confirmed. I can say that’s definitely a character we want to work into the show at some point in the future. Whether that happens this season, i don”t really know.”

Actress Melissa McBride talked about her character, Carol. “I think she’s going to be a little bit of a limbo. She might find some strength in herself.” Showrunner Glen Mazzara added,  “Carol has always depended on other people… it forces Carol to stand on her own. One of the traps of that character is to just make her the grieving mom.”

Rick vs. Shane will be at “the heart of the show” moving forward, Mazzara said. “Rick proved himself to be a leader … he put down Sophia,” he said. “You have these two Alpha Males sparring for position and we get a lot of great story out of that. And it puts everybody else in a difficult position on that farm”.

When asked about what caused the apocalypic outbreak of walkers, the show’s writers say they don’t know either.

“Internally, we don’t know where the zombie outbreak started, how to cure it, anything like that,” show runner Glen Mazzara said. “We haven’t really discussed it. We’re more interested in the continuing storylines.”

“That’s something that’s not really addressed in the book. And that’s something that we’d like to keep,” Mazzara added. “This show is about our characters. And about them trying to stay alive, hold on to their humanity, find a safe place, hopefully rebuild civilization. Just everything’s collapsed. So they’re under incredible duress. It doesn’t feel right that they would have those answers, and even if they did have those answers, what would they do with them?”