BANFF, Alta. - With many fans of the AMC mega hit "The Walking Dead" still talking about last spring's season 2 finale, the man running the zombie apocalypse show is giving a tantalizing glimpse into the upcoming season.

"The Walking Dead" stars Andrew Lincoln as sheriff's deputy Rick Grimes, who wakes up after being in a coma to find the world dominated by zombies and sets out to find his family and survivors along the way.

Last season ended with one of the characters being saved by a mysterious hooded figure who used a sword to remove the head of an attacking zombie.

As the final credits played, the camera panned skyward, showing a prison just a stone's throw from where the other survivors were spending the night.

"You will see new characters this year. The character that appears in the finale in the hood with the two pet zombies is an African-American woman name Michonne and she is a bad ass character directly from the comic book," executive producer Glen Mazzara told The Canadian Press at the Banff World Media Festival.

"There's also a major villain named 'The Governor.' These storylines are what I'd call the heart of 'The Walking Dead' comic book. These storylines are something that when comic book fans discuss the material this is what they will talk about."

The show is both filmed and set in Georgia. Shooting is underway on the fourth episode of season three and Mazzara was making some finishing touches to the script for episode 7.

"We are figuring out the rest of the season. I could tell you what the finale is but I won't," he said with a chuckle.

While last year's episodes were filmed almost entirely at the farm of character Hershel Greene (Scott Wilson), there will be two completely different locales in the upcoming season.

"There's the prison which Rick and his group will have to fight for and spill blood for and then there's the governor's community of Woodbury which is a town that he has fortified," Mazzara said.

"These two locations will be how the story plays out within these two locations and these two groups of people and how they're on a collision path."

There is also a rumour that Merle Dixon, who disappeared in season 1 after sawing off his hand in order to escape the zombies will return in season 3.

Mazzara, who said he has no desire to have one-dimensional bad guys on the show who twirl their moustaches, would only hint at whether actor Michael Rooker's character will return.

"If he comes back I'm sure being forced to fend for yourself with one hand would change your character. So he may not show up with a moustache and he certainly doesn't have a hand to twirl it with," Mazzara said.

Mazzara said he is willing to keep making the show as long as fans remain interested.

"I would love for this show to go full distance — seven years and 100 episodes. I don't know if AMC is interested in spinning off 'Walking Dead Miami' or 'Walking Dead Vegas' — I'll leave it to them."

Season 3 will air this fall.

News from © The Canadian Press, 2012