‘The Walking Dead’: Here’s Why Negan And The Wolves Are Not Connected

Ever since the Season 6 finale of AMC’s The Walking Dead premiered last Sunday, fans have been trawling the internet for any evidence of who Negan really is and which main character died as a result of Negan’s bat, Lucille. One thing I have noticed since Negan’s arrival is the interest in an article I wrote back in October of last year that potentially links Negan and the Wolves. However, I am here to burst your bubble that Negan and the Wolves are probably not related. And here’s why.

SPOILER ALERT: This article contains information about AMC’s The Walking Dead as well as the comic book series it is based on. Please proceed with caution if you are not currently up to date on both.

My original article was written at a time in The Walking Dead series when not a lot was known about either group. The Season 6 premiere of The Walking Dead was yet to air, so little was known about Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) other than an ambiguous casting call for the last episode of Season 6. All fans knew was that a group called the Wolves were looming and that they might be as “feral” and “heartless” as Negan’s group that went by the name of the Saviors. Many Walking Dead fans were questioning whether the Wolves were a substitute name for the Saviors or whether they were the replacement for a group called the Scavengers. As Hollywood Take recently pointed out, though, the Wolves were more similar than the Saviors to the Scavengers group, as both the Wolves and Scavengers were smaller groups that were less of a threat than Negan’s group. They were both also less organized than Negan’s massive group, with the comics creator even calling them “psychotic” when describing them to Entertainment Weekly.

We now know that these two groups are separate in The Walking Dead. Or could that just be a clever plan devised by AMC to make fans think the two groups are entirely independent of each other? Considering all of the Wolves had the letter “W” etched into their forehead, it seems unlikely from the onset that the Wolves and the Saviors were ever a joint part of Negan’s group. Although, if Negan had taken them over after they had started their branding, perhaps it would be a good decoy to separate the two groups. But, from the little Walking Dead fans know of the Wolves, it seems unlikely that Negan would have ever gained any control over the group who left their own fates up to nature and not a human hierarchy at all.

But if fans are still questioning whether the Wolves are part of the Saviors or not, an interview Robert Kirkman did with Entertainment Weekly back in February of this year should certainly alleviate any doubt surrounding Negan, the Saviors, and the Wolves being connected and whether we will see the Wolves again in The Walking Dead. EW asked Kirkman if the wolf (known simply as W man but played by Benedict Samuel) that died in Episode 9 of Season 6 was the last wolf in the pack and whether he was indeed the last of the Wolves altogether. He also differentiated between the Saviors and the Wolves, something Kirkman didn’t correct in his reply.

“Yeah, W was the last of them, and we’re full steam ahead in the Saviors territory at this point.”

So it looks like, even if the Wolves and Saviors were connected at some point, the Wolves, at least, are dead and buried and will not be returning again in The Walking Dead.

What do you think, are the Wolves all gone, or could they somehow still be connected to Negan? Let us know your thoughts and theories by commenting below!

As yet, AMC has not confirmed the Season 7 premiere date for The Walking Dead, although it is anticipated to be sometime in October of this year.

[Image via Gene Page/AMC]