TV The Walking Dead reveals comic book favorite Mercer in new season 11 teaser See Michael James Shaw in character as this pivotal figure from the comics. By Nick Romano Nick Romano Nick is an entertainment journalist based in New York, NY. If you like pugs and the occasional blurry photo of an action figure, follow him on Twitter @NickARomano. EW's editorial guidelines Published on July 1, 2021 01:04PM EDT The Walking Dead is on a non-stop collision course for its season 11 premiere on Aug. 22, and the promotional train has brought us a new teaser for the impending final season story, complete with a first official look at comic book character Mercer. Actor Michael James Shaw joins the cast as this figure, who's the chief officer of the soldiers of The Commonwealth, the technologically advanced (for the apocalypse, at least) network of colonies that will be introduced in season 11. The extended season 10 episodes brought some of the grunt militiamen dressed in white armor, but Mercer stands out from the crowd with his red ensemble. Mercer's inclusion in the teaser, which also highlights folks like Norman Reedus' Daryl, Lauren Cohan's Maggie, Jeffrey Dean Morgan's Negan, and Melissa McBride's Carol, hints at the character's prominence for this last 22-episode chapter. The new promo is part of "11 weeks of reveals" leading up to the season 11 premiere, according to AMC. EW previously unveiled the first look at season 11 with a batch of photos, and showrunner Angela Kang teased there will be "tons of zombies and lots of action and fun and intrigue, and locations we've never seen." "We'll be dealing with the new group that our foursome of Eugene, Ezekiel, Princess, and Yumiko ran across and that starts to open up their world in bigger and unexpected ways," she said, referencing the Commonwealth. "Then of course we've got to see that Connie is still alive at the end of episode 16, so we still got that thread out there to deal with. We've got some great stories at Alexandria, as they're dealing with the aftermath of this Whisperer war and things start to amp up even further. Then it all keeps rolling from there." Related content: First photos of The Walking Dead's final season reveal clues The Walking Dead showrunner says season 11 will be back to 'usual scope and scale' Why Dwight wasn't in the 'Here's Negan' episode of The Walking Dead