Juan Javier Cardenas

AMC’s ‘The Walking Dead’ is bringing in another character from Robert Kirkman and Charlie Adlard’s source comic book, and you’ve probably already seen him in the latest trailer.  Juan Javier Cardenas is playing Dante, a character who, in the books, was a resident of Hilltop and a love interest for Maggie, following the death of her husband Glenn.  Obviously, that means that Dante’s role in the TV show will be very different, but showrunner Angela Kang has said his “roguish” personality will be the same.

Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, Kang stated:

“We’ll be meeting the character Dante from the comics.  He is this roguish, fast-talking, sometimes charming, sometimes annoying guy who can sometimes put his foot in his mouth, but is an interesting presence in the comics… He’s actually a love interest of Maggie.  But in our world, the context is a little different, and he will play an important role in the story in Alexandria. So we’re excited about that.”

Art by Charlie Adlard, Image Comics

In the comics, Dante manages to break through the mental barrier Maggie erects around herself after Glenn’s death.  He was never shown to have been killed, so he likely survived until the ending of the series, last month.

Lauren Cohan who played Maggie on the show, left the series last year, but reportedly, producers and writers are attempting to find a way to bring her back.  But Dante is entering the picture first, and as Kang described, his storyline actually involves Alexandria, not Hilltop.  It’s very possible that Dante’s storyline will be 100% different than it was in the comics.

Cardenas, shown above in ‘TWD’ trailer, most recently appeared as Beni on ‘S.W.A.T.’.  He also co-starred on ‘Snowfall’ and ‘Damnation’.

Kang also implied that Dante won’t be the only comic book character to appear this season.

“There will be some other characters we meet down the line, but I don’t think I can quite talk about them yet. We’ll meet some really cool characters this year.”

Specifically, she teased, “We do love royalty on our show.”

Art by Charlie Adlard, Image Comics

‘The Walking Dead’ returns to AMC on September 6, 2019.