The shot in the trailer of Rick waking up naturally led some viewers to speculate that The Walking Dead was going to reveal that the first seven seasons of the show had been nothing more than an incredibly elaborate coma dream of Rick’s after he was shot way back in the series premiere.
Apparently, we have Robert Kirkman’s father to thank for Scott Gimple confirming on the pre-Season 8 Talking Dead episode that Rick is definitely not waking up from a coma at the end of the trailer.
Erasing the majority of the show for the sake of a coma plot twist would have been a bold way to go, but it would probably alienate a whole lot of fans as well.