‘The Walking Dead’ Gets Very Personal With Negan And Jeffrey Dean Morgan
Warning: This article may contain spoilers for The Walking Dead comic books and television series.
As is usually the case with The Walking Dead season finales, the end of season 6 left fans feeling the full spectrum of raw emotions from frustration to grief and, while the man responsible for some of that grief can’t divulge too much about the season 7 premiere of The Walking Dead, Jeffrey Dean Morgan wants fans to know he understands.
Morgan opened up about his experiences playing the latest bad guy to make trouble on The Walking Dead, Negan, as well as delving into the season finale that left so many fans stunned in a perpetual state of confusion.
The Walking Dead‘s Jeffrey Dean Morgan Opens Up About Negan And That Crazy Cliffhanger
Other than getting details on what’s to come in season 7, die-hard fans of The Walking Dead probably would be most interested in getting the inside scoop on Morgan’s portrayal of Negan and how the actor could step into such a seemingly evil role. Jeffrey reveals that, as far as his big scene in The Walking Dead finale, he didn’t have much prep time, or really any time to think about Negan’s motivations, because he only received the script two days before they were scheduled to shoot his scene. Morgan, who was already familiar to Supernatural fans as the hard but loving patriarch of the Winchester clan, says, even when he did get the script, The Walking Dead producers only provided him with his own scenes.
“But I think, for obvious reasons, the cast of the show was understandably agitated. … I think agitated is a fair word — it was a very emotional two nights and I think you saw it on the actors’ faces,” Morgan says of how his co-stars approached the season finale.
Fans of The Walking Dead may not believe this, but Mr. Morgan says he honestly didn’t realize the episode would end with that cliffhanger, which makes sense, considering how little was revealed to him in the final script. Still, Jeffrey says he spoke with the producers after the episode had aired and, as it was explained to him, the season 6 finale of The Walking Dead concluded a particular story arc, wrestling control away from Rick (Andrew Lincoln) and giving that power to Negan.
“And I think that’s where they wanted to end the story, and it’s not about the death of that person, and then the death of the person is going to kick off season 7, and season 7 will be a big part of, obviously, who is on the receiving end of Lucille? I understand the fans’ frustration, I get that; that being said … I have to trust these writers and showrunners,” says Morgan. “They know what they’re doing; a lot of people watch for 6 seasons, and I believe that they’ll be back to see who met Lucille and as the story continues to grow.”
The Walking Dead Comic Book Creator Robert Kirkman To Pen Negan’s Origins
#TheWalkingDead could next week be Glenn's last episode? Negan kills Glenn in the comics. pic.twitter.com/NSpUHPIJb3
— Lucas (@LucasBarter) March 28, 2016
While Negan is the newest villain to hit the small screen version of The Walking Dead, he has been terrorizing characters (and readers) of the comic book source material for some time now. Still, Negan has managed to remain a mystery to everyone, but The Walking Dead‘s creator, Robert Kirkman, is finally ready to give fans a backstory for the villain. Negan’s story will be told in a 48 page tale, released in 4-page installments in the monthly preview catalog, Image+.
The Walking Dead creator isn’t starting off this new comic book installment with Negan’s beginnings, however. It seems the story will pick up with Negan creating his beloved Lucille, the weapon that has become his trademark in the comic books and now on AMC’s The Walking Dead adaptation.
“I talked to [comic creator] Robert Kirkman [on Sunday night] after we did Talking Dead and he is kind of doing the backstory of Negan now, so whether or not or when we see that – I hope we do, I can’t answer that,” says Morgan, also referring to the forthcoming Negan origins story.
Jeffrey Dean Morgan remains hopeful that the history of Negan will make it onto the television series and that may be possible in a series of flashbacks, but The Walking Dead villain also reveals that there won’t be any time jumping, when The Walking Dead returns in the fall.
“I know when season 7 kicks off it’s going to kick off directly from where we left it; that’s about all I know as a fact at this point. But hopefully we’ll find out more about Negan as we go. I mean, I think his backstory is going to be pretty fascinating.”
The Walking Dead season 7 premiere will air on Sunday, October 9 on AMC.
[Image by AMC]
