'The Walking Dead' Season 7 Premiere Isn't As Big As Season 6 Debut Episode In Terms Of Scale

(Photo : Gene Page/AMC) "The Walking Dead" executive producer Greg Nicotero talked about the scale of the upcoming season 7 premiere.

The scale of the upcoming season 7 premiere of "The Walking Dead" won't be as big as the first episode of season 6.

Greg Nicotero, who directed the season 7 premiere of the hit AMC series, told Entertainment Weekly that the debut episode of the forthcoming installment is different from the show's season 6 premiere.

"It's definitely not the season 6 premiere in terms of quarries with 40,000 walkers in it," Nicotero told the news outlet. "Every single season premiere is different. Every single season premiere has a different flavor to it, and I think knowing where we ended season 6, and knowing that we're picking up season 7 in that emotionally drained hostage situation -- you'll get some flavors of a bunch of different aspects of it, but I don't think there's anything quite as quarry-like, or like the attack on Terminus, as we've done in the past."

While viewers are seemingly going to see less of the undead in the episode, the season premiere is still expected to be intensely gripping as the character at the receiving end of Negan's (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) Lucille will be revealed in the episode.

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"It's a much different story because we're opening a different chapter, and one thing you've got to think about is this death changes who our characters are and propels them in a different direction," Nicotero said. "That's one of the reasons why we felt that having the death in the premiere episode was warranted."

"Yeah, it's a cliffhanger and I get that people were anxious and excited about knowing what happened, and seeing where it goes with the story," continued the executive producer, "but truth of the matter is, that death propels our story forward, and has a direct effect on people. And that's why you really want it to be the anchor point of our season 7 as opposed to the parting moment of season 6, and then sort of starting already partially into our story."

The premiere date for "The Walking Dead" season 7 is expected to be announced during the show's panel at San Diego Comic-Con this coming Friday, July 22. A trailer for the upcoming installment is also expected to debut during the event.