The Walking Dead season seven finale is less than a month away and showrunner Scott Gimple has hammered home what fans already knew: characters will die.

However, Gimple has promised that instead of being a “...very claustrophobic descent into darkness” like the season six finale, this yeat's final episode “...is more expansive - in tone and location and characters.”

There will also be lighter moments peppered in among the horror.

Gimple told TVLine: “[Season 6’s finale] was the noose tightening and things getting darker and darker. This season’s finale has darkness and light, real horrific moments, betrayal, and real moments of beauty, redemption, love and friendship.

“It’s sort of the panoply of human and Walking Dead experience.”

Now the world has expanded to include characters from the Hilltop, the Kingdom, the Saviours - even the Junkyard - it's a sure bet that the body count will be higher than usual.

“Well, there are losses,” Gimple admitted.

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“As the stakes get higher and higher... things start to get more intense and heartbreaking, and yet everyone has to sort of band together and keep going.”