As Season 5 of "The Walking Dead" stumbles nearer, comic book creator and AMC show executive producer and writer Robert Kirkman and Glenn Rhee actor Steven Yeun talk about the season's shocking premiere and the future of characters, both old and new.

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Kirkman said that Season 5 Episode 1 will take place right in the train car where Season 4 left off and "very much" focuses on Terminus.

"There's a lot of big revelations that haven't really come out that I think people are gonna be pretty startled by," he said. "... I think the coolest thing about coming back to Season 5 is that we really hit the ground running. ... we very quickly deal with the situation that we left them in -- this trapped, victim situation where they're kind of at the mercy of the people of Terminus. We really kind of expand the story from there very rapidly, so I think this is going to be a pretty fast-paced season with quite a bit going on."

Yeun agreed that the season premiere is "pretty brutal."

"I don't know if we will be able to show everything," he told E! News. "I remember a couple of scenes I would look over at what was going on in the scene, and I would be like, 'What the eff? What are we doing? How is this legal?' It's grounded and real, too; it's not like torture or gore for no reason. It's literally that is what would happen, and we are trying to show it. It would not work on network television, let me tell you that."

Kirkman briefly addressed the addition of "The Wire" alum Seth Gilliam, who many suspect are playing Father Gabriel, saying the actor plays someone "very integral" to the show's future.

"Who he is is possibly a very large hint to where the story is gonna go, if you've read the comic book series," Kirkman teased.

The possible Father Gabriel won't be the only new aspect of the season.

"We're gonna do some new stuff, and a lot of that involves bringing in a lot of new characters," Kirkman said. "There's going to be some big changes ahead, and it's gonna all be cool stuff."

That's not to say the old characters will be forgotten, however.

"The group is not a group to be messed with anymore," Yeun said. "I think last year where we left off with Rick saying 'They don't know who they are screwing with' is absolutely right. These people have gotten through quite a bit, and they persevered over a lot and they lost countless lives, but at the same time, the people that have continued to live on have become stronger."

What about Glenn? Is the veteran character tough enough to survive Season 5?

"Ugh, I mean, sometimes it's rough. I mean, sometimes it's awesome," Yeun said when asked about rumors of Glenn's impending death. "We will see what happens, yeah."

Season 5 of "The Walking Dead" beings on AMC in October.
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Follow Scharon Harding on Twitter: @ScharHar.

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