The Walking Dead Season 7: 9 Things You Need To Know About King Ezekiel (And Shiva)
Welcome to the Kingdom.
With Jesus and Dwight introduced midway through The Walking Dead's sixth season, and Negan finally arriving at the end of the finale, a lot of the major comic characters that fans had long been wishing for had made their way to the show.
Of the still plentiful amount who haven't yet arrived, there were two who stood far above any others as needing to get there soon: Ezekiel and Shiva. Of course, only one of those is actually a human, with Shiva being his pet tiger.
Thankfully, The Walking Dead producers knew this as well, and the pair will be coming into the fold during Season 7, which will get underway on October 23 (and a day later in the UK).
The first trailer for the new season, which debuted at San Diego Comic-Con, contained plenty of big moments, such as Lucille (Negan's barbed-wire wrapped baseball bat) dripping with blood, Negan at the gates of Alexandria, and very little clue as to just who it is he killed.
The big takeaway from it all, however, was the presence of King Ezekiel and his loyal companion, Shiva. Now that they've been welcomed to the show, and welcomed us to the Kingdom, let's get to know the pair a little better.
9. Who Is Playing Him
Since he's a King (albeit a self-proclaimed one), Ezekiel needs to be played by someone who can successfully pull off that stature.
The man chosen is Khary Paynton, and it remains to be seen just what he can do in the role. There's not a lot to go on, with most of his work previous to this coming as a voice actor, most notably Cyborg in Teen Titans, and Aqualad in Young Justice. Based on the trailer he looks the part at least, and he should at least have the vocal talent to cary off an air of royalty.
As for Shiva, well, no, she's not a real tiger - something Robert Kirkman has expressed his joy about - but CGI, or at least in the trailer, though it may be a mix of CG and animatronics going forward.