'The Walking Dead' season 7 spoilers: Rick plots to fight against Negan

An all-out war against the ruthless Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) is about to break out when the second half of "The Walking Dead" returns to AMC in 2017.

Toward the end of episode 8 titled "Hearts Still Beating," Rick (Andrew Lincoln) will finally muster his guts to start a rebellion against the vile leader of the Saviors after talking to Michonne (Danai Gurira). He then led the group composed of Michonne, Tara (Alanna Masterson), Rosita (Christian Serratos), and his son Carl (Chandler Riggs) in travelling to the Hilltop where they were reunited with Sasha (Sonequa Martin-Green), Enid (Katelyn Nacon) and Maggie (Lauren Cohan).

When they reached the Hilltop, Rick found out that Daryl (Norman Reedus) managed to escape Sanctuary's clutches with the help of Hilltop's scout Jesus (Tom Payne). Upon realizing that he has enough backing to launch a big war against Negan, he told Maggie that the time has come for them to make the Savior leader pay for killing her husband Glenn and their good friend Abraham.

In the trailer for the second half of "The Walking Dead" season 7, Rick will be seen talking to the leaders of Hilltop and the Kingdom to convince them that they need to work with each other to end Negan's tyranny.

In an interview with ComicBook.com, showrunner Scott Gimple revealed that things will be different when "The Walking Dead" returns for the second half of season 7. "I will say 7B's vibe is very different from 7A's vibe. The ending of 7B is very different than the beginning of 7A," Gimple stated. "It's just a very, very different half season than the half season that preceded it. Even with structure, what we're doing right now with the episodes and seeing where everyone is at, the structure is very, very different than the back half."

AMC will air the second half of "The Walking Dead" season 7 on Sunday, Feb. 12.