'The Walking Dead' season 7 release date, plot spoilers: Identity of Negan's victim doesn't matter; 'TWD' Comic-Con panelists announced

Without a doubt, the thing "The Walking Dead" fans are looking forward to the most in the show's upcoming season 7 is the hotly anticipated revelation of the identity of Negan's (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) victim in the season 6 finale.

The identity of the so-called Lucille Victim had been so hyped and speculated-about that a backlash ensued when the season 6 finale ended without the revelation.

Yet, the show's modus operandi of leaving fans to wait to see the rest of the grisly death scene seems to be working. Months before it airs, the premiere episode of "The Walking Dead" season 7 is one of the most talked-about and eagerly awaited television events this year and, possibly, in recent history.

Nonetheless, there are those who say that the identity of Negan's victim doesn't really matter. As fans know, every single person in the lineup from which Negan was choosing his victim is beloved to everyone else in the group. The death of any of the possible victims is sure to have a profound and lasting effect on the other zombie apocalypse survivors.

In that sense, isn't the victim's identity inconsequential?

"Knowing the fact that any death changes our characters and changes our people in a very dramatic way, what's exciting about season seven is how a death — any death — changes people and propels us in a different direction," "The Walking Dead" executive producer Greg Nicotero told The Hollywood Reporter in April.

Meanwhile, the cast and producers of AMC's popular zombie apocalypse series are set to take the stage at this year's Comic-Con, which will be held in San Diego later this month.

According to ComicBook.com, apart from holding an official panel, AMC will set up a "The Walking Dead"-themed booth, in which fans can have their photos taken with Negan's lineup from the season 6 finale.

The "TWD" panelists for Comic-Con 2016 are cast members Andrew Lincoln, Norman Reedus, Steven Yeun, Chandler Riggs, Lauren Cohan, Danai Gurira, Sonequa Martin-Green, Michael Cudlitz, Christian Serratos, Josh McDermitt, Ross Marquand, and Jeffrey Dean Morgan. Executive producer and showrunner Scott M. Gimple will also be there, along with executive producer Robert Kirkman, executive producer Gale Anne Hurd, executive producer David Alpert, and Nicotero.

The "TWD" panel is slated for July 22 at 1 p.m. PT in Hall H.

"The Walking Dead" season 7 will debut in October on AMC.