"The Walking Dead" tapped "Tales from the Crypt: Demon Knight" director Ernest Dickerson to helm its Season 3 premiere this fall, and he is promising a glorious debut for the character of Michonne and a "really slam-bang script with a lot of action."

Dickerson directed the Season 2 finale, "Beside the Dying Fire," which featured an epic showdown with a zombie horde. Now he's looking to ensure the Season 3 premiere maintains a similar cinematic stamp.

"What I love about doing this show is each episode is like doing a mini-movie; it's different than any other television show I've ever done," Dickerson explained. "I'm really excited for the fans to see a growth in the characters that they know."

"Beside the Dying Fire" also briefly introduced the katana wielding Michonne, whose face was obscured by a cloak. "Treme" actress Danai Gurira was later cast for the part. The premiere will begin shaping Michonne's arc, which maintains the essence of her popular character, including her personality and motives from Robert Kirkman's comic.

"We get to meet her, and I know a lot of people have been looking forward to that," Dickerson said.

But will humans or zombies be the biggest threat to Michonne and the group for Season 3?

"It's human drama after society has completely disintegrated," he said. "Our people have figured their way through one menace, but now there's the human menace, and now they're taking advantage of the fact that there's no law, there's no more government. Who can you trust? It's still dealing with pretty esoteric territory."

"The Walking Dead" continues to be wildly successful for AMC. The show broke a basic cable record when it pulled in 9 million viewers for its action-packed Season 2 finale.

Achieving series highs in total viewers and all key demographic categories, the series beat its Season 1 finale by 51 percent, and it attracted 50 percent increases in adults 18-49 (6 million) and adults 25-54 (5.3 million). Overall, the series enjoyed a 32 percent increase in viewers compared to Season 1.

Season 2's premiere previously held the record; it scored 8.1 million total viewers, 5.4 million of which were 18-49 and 4.4 million were 25-54.

"The Walking Dead" follows police officer Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) as he leads his family and a group of survivors across the country in search of a safe home as zombie hordes threaten their every move.

Lincoln ("Love, Actually," "Teachers") was recently nominated during the 2012 Airlock Alpha Portal Awards for Best Actor/Television. See our story here.

In 2011, the series earned a Golden Globe nomination for Best Television Series - Drama and won the 2011 Emmy Award for Outstanding Prosthetic Makeup.

"The Walking Dead" also stars Steven Yeun, Sarah Wayne Callies ("Prison Break"), Chandler Riggs ("Get Low") and Laurie Holden ("Shield").