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San Diego • King Ezekiel and his pet tiger Shiva are coming to "The Walking Dead."

The dreadlocked character from the comics will be portrayed in the zombie drama's upcoming seventh season by actor Khary Payton. The character rules a formidable community known as the Kingdom in the comics on which the hit AMC series is based.

The character and his pet were glimpsed in a trailer that debuted during the show's panel at San Diego Comic-Con International.

The panel kicked off Friday with actor Jeffrey Dean Morgan menacingly stalking behind several cast members with his villainous character Negan's barbed-wire bat. Negan infamously assassinated a character off screen at the end of last season.

The seventh season of "The Walking Dead" will premiere Oct. 23.