Warning: this article contains potential spoilers for The Walking Dead season nine.

Gene Page/AMC

A rather grim fate awaits Father Gabriel (Seth Gilliam) in season nine of The Walking Dead, according to new on-set pictures from filming.

The priest appears to have been blinded in his right eye – and not only that, but he's got a whole new get-up too with a Southern preacher-type look.

Backgrid

Gabriel had been suffering from a mysterious illness throughout season eight that appeared to affect his eyes, so this picture may confirm that he succumbs to it next season.

His vision isn't the only thing that may be jumping next time around, as on-set pictures also suggest that season nine may head forward into the future.

In the new shots, the group look relatively peaceful, clean and tidy after All Out War, and the idea of a fast-forward is backed up by the source material in the comics.

Gene Page AMC

There, once All Out War is over, it also jumps a few years into the future, showing the communities flourishing… before the Whisperers arrive, that is.

Speaking of what to expect in season nine, outgoing showrunner Scott Gimple recently teased: "What [the writers] have planned... it just feels new. It feels like an evolved show.

"[The past eight seasons] very much lived in the world that Rick began with. It was so informed by the pilot, [and] it just takes this quantum leap forward in the stories we're telling."

The Walking Dead airs on AMC in the US and on FOX and NOW TV in the UK.

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