11 theories about who the masked man is on 'The Walking Dead'
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
Warning: There are spoilers ahead for "The Walking Dead" season 10 finale.
The final episode of the season introduced a mysterious masked individual accompanying Maggie.
Maggie introduced the person as a man to Father Gabriel.
Showrunner Angela Kang told Insider this is not a character from the comics named Mercer.
From Morgan Jones to Heath, Insider rounded up the many candidates fans believe is under the mask and weighs in on the likelihood of who the mysterious man may be.
Madison
The theory: Some people want to believe the series is bringing back fan-favorite Madison, who was seemingly killed off of "Fear the Walking Dead."
Why it's not Madison: Look, we want to see Madison back in "TWD" universe as much as anyone else, but Maggie made it clear the masked individual is a man. If you were still doubting the way she phrased her sentence on the season finale, actress Lauren Cohan, who plays Maggie, confirmed to Cinemablend that the person is indeed a man by using male pronouns, "him," when referring to the masked figure.
Morgan Jones
The theory: Morgan will return from "Fear TWD" to "TWD" at some point and that's why the show is keeping his identity secret.
Why we like this theory: It's easy to forget, but the current season of "Fear" is still several years behind "The Walking Dead" at this point. There are a lot of things that could happen to Morgan in between season six of "Fear," which we're on now, and the time jump that occurred on "TWD." Maybe his face gets injured and he's covering it up to protect himself.
Morgan's new lease on life following the recent "Fear TWD" premiere made us consider this could be the former pacifist. At the end of the premiere, he told Ginny that the Morgan we knew "is dead." She's dealing with someone else now. That someone else? Well, he appears to be a bit more of a ruthless killer.
Take a look at the man's weapons as well. Is it possible the two double-sided weapons are made out of one long piece of wood? Are his weapons made out of Morgan's old stick or the new weapon he acquired on "Fear TWD"?
Why this might not be Morgan: Father Gabriel knows Morgan. Why wouldn't Maggie just introduce him as such? Morgan surely would have taken off his mask to show he's not a threat, right?
Mercer
The theory: A lot of fans were quick to believe the mystery person was an adaptation of comic character, Mercer, a soldier of the Commonwealth community.
Why it's not Mercer: Showrunner Angela Kang quickly dispelled that theory when we asked her outright if the masked man is Mercer.
"It is not Mercer," Kang told Insider.
"I'll say that we will learn more about this character and kind of who they are and what Maggie has been through more recently," Kang said. "That's going to be a big part of the story in the six episodes to come, but also in the season [11] as a whole to come."
If anything, Mercer should be wearing one of those Stormtrooper-looking suits, not this getup. During the New York Comic Con "TWD" panel, Kang wrote in a live chat that Mercer hasn't been cast yet.
Heath
The theory: Do you remember Heath (Corey Hawkins)? The character was last seen on season seven, episode six of "TWD" when he and Tara were separated.
It's been three seasons since we've heard anything about Heath. Even stranger, no one ever brought up the character again since his disappearance in 2017. Maybe he's been out in the world forging his own path as a warrior.
Why we love this theory: "TWD" creator Robert Kirkman previously told fans at New York Comic Con in 2018 they were "hoping to get him back and tell his story." Kirkman even said there were plans in place.
As a reminder, Hawkins left the show to star on "24: Legacy." He then appeared in movies "Kong: Skull Island," "BlacKkKlansman," and was set to appear in the film, "In the Heights."
Why it's unlikely: In a subsequent interview, Kang confirmed to Insider that Heath was taken by the same group that currently has Rick Grimes. So we're not expecting him to necessarily be back on "TWD" unless he made some sort of escape from the CRM and is keeping a low profile with the mask.
Honestly, it sounds more likely we'd see Heath turn up in an episode of the forthcoming anthology series, "Tales of TWD," or in the Grimes' movie. It would be great to see the dynamic between Heath and Rick trapped somewhere together. If you don't recall, Heath was pretty skeptical of Rick's capabilities and moral decisions as a leader. He was about ready to bail on the group.
Read more: 'The Walking Dead' showrunner confirms Heath was taken by the same group as Rick Grimes
Eduardo
The theory: There's a subset of "TWD" fandom, who are diehard Eduardo (Peter Luis Zimmerman) fans and they want to see him back on the show doing what he's done in the past: Protect Maggie and his people.
Why it's possible: In 2019, Kang told Insider Eduardo is alive and out there somewhere in the zombie apocalypse.
"We have people kind of going back and forth on journeys, so there may be some more Eduardo in the future or not," Kang said of the character.
Zimmerman told Insider he hadn't heard anything about appearing on the show, but that he'd love to reprise his role.
Why it may not be Eduardo: Kang said that while Eduardo is alive, she liked to believe he was at the Hilltop. It's not clear that he actually left his community with Maggie when she joined Georgie's group.
Kal
The theory: Kal's another member of the Hilltop community, who was loyal to Maggie and often seen protecting her, which makes him a likely candidate to be under the mask.
Why it's possible: Again, we don't know why the masked man is hiding his face, but he could be immensely scarred or injured from a previous attack that happened since the season nine time jump.
Why it's not likely: It feels like the show wants this to be a big reveal. We're not certain Kal would generate a jaw-dropping moment on the series for anyone outside of a small segment of the fandom. Frankly, it may do the opposite and cause fans to wonder why so much secrecy was placed upon a smaller background character on the series.
We also doubt it's Kal because he's been seen on the show in the background since Maggie left the show on the latter half of season nine. It's currently unknown whether or not Kal was killed when a horde of the undead attacked the Hilltop on season 10.
Maggie and Glenn's son Hershel
The theory: Some viewers think this is Maggie and Glenn's son, Hershel, all grown up.
The problem with this theory: Though we haven't seen Hershel since he was a baby, he's supposed to be younger than Judith (Cailey Fleming), who is around 10 years old.
This masked person looks like a full-grown man. Unless, Hershel had a serious growth-spurt, or the show pulled the old "soap opera rapid aging syndrome" trope, this doesn't add up. It's a fun theory, though.
Felix
The theory: The man is Nico Tortorella's character Felix from "TWD: World Beyond."
Why we'd love this: Felix quickly has become the stand-out favorite on the second "TWD" spinoff. As the security leader of his community, he definitely knows his way around a fancy weapon.
We know "TWDWB" takes place 10 years into the zombie apocalypse so the timing seems like it should probably line up with the original show. Currently, Felix is traveling from New York to Nebraska. Maybe he gets turned around in his adventure, doesn't make it all the way and makes a turn in West Virginia, which leads him to Maggie.
Why we're sadly not convinced this is Felix's journey: When we spoke with Tortorella on the set of "TWDWB" in 2019, they seemed very adamant about knowing the location of Rick Grimes, telling Insider that the spinoff will lead into the previously announced "TWD" film. Tortorella also said he was able to film "TWDWB" because the show had the exact opposite schedule of his other TV series, "Younger."
It seems more likely at this point that Felix could cross paths with Rick (and we're OK with that).
Duane Jones
The theory: Forget Morgan Jones. Some fans are hoping the masked man is Morgan's son, Duane, all grown-up.
Why this may not be the case: In season three, Rick surprisingly comes across Morgan again for the first time since the show's first episode.
When we see Morgan again, he's not the man he once was. He was driven mad by the death of his son. Morgan tells Rick that Duane was bitten by his zombified wife and died.
Why we really like this: While we want to take Morgan at his word, we never actually saw Duane die on the show. Can you really believe that someone is dead and gone on "TWD" if you never see their body?
The real reason we're into a Duane reappearance is because it would be an incredible remix from the comics. In the graphic series, Michonne always assumed her daughter had died early in the apocalypse. Toward the very end of the comic series, she's reunited with her grown daughter, who has been living at the Commonwealth community.
It's an incredible reunion that caught longtime fans offguard. With Michonne off the series, it would be an extremely satisfying reunion to see for another character like Morgan. We've already seen Kang and the writers do some pretty clever remixes from the comics since she took over the show on season nine, so we're ready for her to surprise us again.
Why it's such a long shot we'll see this: We're not entirely convinced the show would try and invalidate one of the show's finest episodes from season three by revealing that Morgan, in some way, wasn't honest about his son's fate.
The only way this may be convincing is if the writers flashback to season three to show Morgan and his son having some sort of falling out that profoundly altered their relationship. Duane's absence then resulted in his father's mental spiral in which he convinced himself that his son died. That seems a bit too dark though.
A replacement for Dante.
The theory: This is a stand-in for Dante, Maggie's love interest in the comics.
After Cohan originally left the show, Dante's character was changed into an undercover Whisperer villain, who infiltrated the Alexandria community to cause paranoia and unrest among the survivors. Technically, there's room in the show.
Why we're not buying it: In a recent interview, Cohan told Cinemablend's Nick Venable the man in the mask isn't a romantic companion.
"What I can say is that he is as loyal to Maggie as Maggie is to him, that they have been through some pretty difficult situations, and have had each other's backs, as well as possibly some other friends that we're going to meet," Cohan said of the mystery character. "For people [who will be wondering], it's not a romantic thing, we can say that."
Why we hope this isn't the move: Let's be real, Kang didn't work hard to get Cohan to return to the show to just throw her immediately back in a new relationship for her final season of the show. Maggie has been one of the fiercest women warriors on "TWD" since season two. She doesn't need another man.
In a previous interview, Katelyn Nacon told Insider if Cohan didn't leave the series in season nine, she was under the impression Maggie would have been paired up with Alden, who is still alive in the zombie apocalypse.
Maggie was spotted wearing a wedding ring on the season 10 finale. Insider confirmed with AMC that's the ring she received from Glenn on season three. Maggie's heart is still, and forever will be, with her love Glenn.
Someone completely new.
The theory: This is a completely new character we haven't seen before in the comics.
Really? This late into the show? Yeah. Outside of Eduardo and Morgan it's really tough to imagine who else this mystery man could be who has Maggie's back through thick and thin.
Because the TV show has revamped or killed off so many of the characters who are still alive in the comic at this point and who were close to Maggie (Dante and Jesus), the writers could be going in a new direction.
Kang teased that they will be taking things in some new directions from the comics in the show's final 30 episodes. A new Entertainment Weekly article seems to support this.
During a table read for the new episodes, Maggie refers to a man named Elijah without giving any more context.
"The next morning we found Elijah and a whole community that needed us as much as we needed them. And it felt like it was meant to be," Maggie tells Daryl.
Is this our mystery man? Perhaps. It seems likely we'll learn more about him — and his potential identity — in the six bonus episodes of "TWD" that will air in early 2021.
Read the original article on Insider
