The Walking Dead Season 9 Premiere Is Getting Supersized

The Walking Dead likes to let its big episodes run long, and that tradition will continue with the Season 9 premiere. Comicbook.com reports that the Oct. 7 kickoff will air from 9pm ET to 10:26pm ET, which equals about a full hour of content.

The episode's title has not yet been released, but we know it's directed by Walking Dead executive producer and effects guru Greg Nicotero, who always directs premieres and finales.

Season 9 will open with a time jump a year and a half into the future. The communities have rebuilt after the events of the war with the Saviors and they are adjusting to a medieval way of life without bullets or gasoline. But dissent is brewing as Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) loyalists grumble and Maggie (Lauren Cohan) questions Rick's (Andrew Lincoln) leadership.

Lincoln and Cohan are leaving the show in Season 9, while Samantha Morton will be joining as scary new skinsuit-wearing villain Alpha.

The Walking Dead Season 9 premieres Sunday, Oct. 7 on AMC.