AMC has released the first trailer for season 5 of Fear the Walking Dead, and it shows just how difficult it can be to help others in the apocalypse. The series has undergone some dramatic restructuring since it first premiered in 2015, with the majority of the original cast now having been whittled down to just two, Alycia Debnam-Carey’s Alicia Clark and Colman Domingo’s Victor Strand, with the rest having been killed off in surprising (and somewhat controversial) fashion over the last few seasons. But it was season 4 the brought about the biggest change, welcoming Lennie James’s Morgan Jones to the show, as well as Garrett Dillahunt, Maggie Grace, and Jenna Elfman.
Season 4 also saw an important change behind the cameras as well, as Ian Goldberg and Andrew Chambliss assumed showrunner duties from Dave Erickson, who created the series along with Robert Kirkman. Needless to say, at the start of season 5, Fear the Walking Dead is set to have a look and feel that’s fairly different from what’s come before. Part of that is due to the cast changes, but another, more important part is due to the new focus on the survivors not just surviving or battling it out with the worst of the worst, but actively going out in search of people who need their help (whether they know it or not).
The first trailer for Fear the Walking Dead season 5 shows just how fraught with danger the group’s best intentions are, and how, although this new undertaking has been going on for a while, it’s been filled with more losses than wins. And while that’s pretty much par for the course for a story set within the Walking Dead franchise, the trailer still manages to deliver two surprises (sort of): the return of Daniel Salazar (Rubén Blades) and the first appearance of Dwight (Austin Amelio) since he departed the mother ship, aka The Walking Dead.
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Dwight’s move from the original series to Fear is the television equivalent of "one good turn deserves another." After Lennie James managed to help reinvigorate the series by getting out from under Rick’s shadow, it stands to reason the franchise could port over some of its other characters, especially memorable ones that might otherwise be overshadowed by the likes of Michonne, Daryl, Carol, and of course, Negan.
The other big surprise is the return of Daniel, the show’s former Mr. Fixit, who hasn’t been seen since he was shot in the face at the end of season 3. How he’s managed to track the group down (in particular, Strand) will be interesting to find out when the new season premieres.