It’s no secret that fans were a little surprised with the season finale of The Walking Dead. What with from the rather abortive assault on the prison, the way the Governor just up and disappeared, and the way the people of Woodbury were then incorporated into the prison community, there appeared to be a lot of unanswered questions, unfinished business and untied loose ends.

Perhaps in response to this, Robert Kirkman, the cast and producers of AMC’s The Walking Dead have released a preview video of what lies in store for season four. Through the course of clips, snippets, and interviews, it is revealed that the new season will have plenty of surprises and promises that the various threads that were left open in season three would ultimately be tied. Given my disappointment with how season three ended, I certainly hope they are telling the truth!

[Spoilers Ahead! Cease reading if you haven’t seen the finale or don’t want to know what’s coming!]

First and foremost on people’s minds is the issue of the Governor. After snapping and shooting his own people, he kind of just took off into the sunset, didn’t he? And then there’s the matter of Carl Grimes, the budding psychopath who’s latest exploits include shooting a man in cold blood. Where is he heading? Toward redemption, or straight to the loony bin? Co-executive producer Denise Huth had this to say on those subjects:

The Governor is still out there. The war is not over. Rick and our group here won the first round and scared him off… Carl’s changing. It’s a huge wake-up call for Rick. And it’s a big fear for him moving into the next season. Is Carl going to be Rick, or is Carl going to be the Governor? And right now Carl could go either way.

In addition, Hurd was sure to indicate that there would be plenty of problems on the home front as well, not the least of which would arise from the way Woodbury and the prison had integrated at the end of season three:

What’s going to happen as these two groups who literally were at war with each other moments before, how are they going to integrate?

In an interview with IGN, Kirkman also had much to say, claiming that the prison will remain a major part of season four, but that there would also be some major changes. For starters, Rick will be facing some of the same issues the Governor dealt with since he now has to lead a larger group that needs more food and supplies than their tight-knit team. And of course, he let viewers know that the Governor would remain a threat.

A bigger group brings with it bigger problems. They are certainly going to need a lot more resources, and they already have a lot of rebuilding to do, just from the things that happened in this battle between Woodbury and the prison. I don’t think there’s going to be a shortage of conflict and danger coming into the fourth season, despite the fact that they are still in the prison…

I’ll say that there are a lot of familiar elements that are remaining. Michonne is still around, Rick and his group are still in the prison, the Governor’s still out there… so there are a lot of things that are carrying over from Season 3 to Season 4, but I can’t stress how different things are going to be.

There are going to be some radical changes to those elements that are going to bring in a lot of new storytelling. While [Season 4] does seem somewhat familiar, it’s going to be vastly different from Season 3.

In addition, Kirkman indicated that in the next season, the world will be expanded well beyond that of the familiar settings established in season three:

We will be getting into more world building, more civilization being brought back. A little bit more of a bigger sense of community.

Well, for those of disappointed in the ending of season three, but generally impressed with the direction the show has been taking since season two, I think it’s fair to say the intrigue level has gone up. Rest assured, there’s plenty of material to be adapted from the original comic, and even without the source material, the zombie apocalypse is some pretty fertile territory! Just seven months to go before the October 2013 premiere, people!

Sources: insidetv.ew.com, blastr.com