Those who do not read The Walking Dead comic book series may not be as excited (yet) to hear names like The Governor and Michonne. However, many fans of the comic book series can't wait to see these characters turn up in Season 3.

During a recent interview, showrunner Glen Mazzara spoke briefly about what we can expect from the third season. He also confirms that this season will closely follow the story from the comic book series, while still making enough changes to keep fans guessing.

Via The WrapYou've said that this season you'll be getting into the real meat of the series -- Michonne (left), the Governor, the prison. How closely are you sticking with the comics?

We're taking the major tentpole characters and storylines from the comics and adapting them to our alternate universe of the TV shows. So it will be just as surprising to comic-book fans as to non-comic-book fans as to how all of it lays out.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of shooting inside the prison for so much of the upcoming season?

The prison itself will be a threatening, malevolent character. It is a challenge to live in the prison. And I think we've really been able to get a lot of story out of it. So it will not feel like a safe corner keeping our characters away from central action. It will really play that they are in a shark cage. Life in a prison is life in a shark cage.

How soon before we meet the Governor?

He makes a surprising appearance. I don’t want to give anything away as to the exact episode, but the audience will certainly be ready for his appearance -- and they won't have to wait too long.

If you stick with what happens in the comics between him and Michonne, it's going to be the most brutal thing on a show that doesn't hold out on violence. Do you feel like you have to temper what's in the comics? Or do you expand on it? Does TV allow you to be more or less graphic?

Certainly there's challenging material in the comic book, and I would say there's equally challenging material on our TV show. I think at the end of season 2 we showed that we don't pull punches … We're not going to get soft now. However, we'll do things on our own time, or when it makes sense for the show. And we're definitely looking at this Governor-Michonne-Woodbury-prison storyline as a longterm arc.

I know walkers aren't exactly zombies, but it seems like in zombie movies there are three ways to go: Everyone dies, you find our what caused the outbreak, or they get to some safe haven. You've already said you don't know what created the zombies. It sounds like something you don't worry about very much.

Robert is not interested in proposing a theory of what caused this apocalypse in his work, and that's something that I think is important for us. It's about surviving in this world. We're lucky in the sense that we're able to draw on a lot of great zombie films. And one of the things we really pride ourselves on is adding to that literature. Adding original bits with zombies that no one has ever seen.

When you look at possible endings, I really am interested in finding new territory and a new type of ending, a surprising ending for this series that no one's ever done before, that no one's ever thought of.

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We'll be able to see the first footage from The Walking Dead Season 3 during next week's preview weekend on AMC, followed by plenty of coverage and footage at the San Diego Comic-Con. Missed any of our previous coverage? Check out our recent articles below:

Source: The Wrap