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‘The Walking Dead’ Writers Working With FCC To Allow ‘Colorful’ Language From New Character Negan, Just Like In The Comic Books

By Stacey Cole
Published on: 05:46 PST, Jan 2, 2016

The Walking Dead has had its share of deaths, and while fans might not like to think about it, there are sure to be more. Eventually, even some long-time, well-loved characters will probably need to go. Fans are currently wondering if Maggie Greene is the next one on the list. International Business Times reports that Lauren Cohan, who plays Maggie in The Walking Dead, recently attended Z100’s Jingle Ball in New York City and she showed up with a totally new, short haircut.

This development has fans worried that Maggie doesn’t make it after the mid-season finale, but a haircut doesn’t mean Maggie is out. In fact, some fans have tweeted as much.

Other fans love that her haircut now matches that of Maggie in the comic books.

Whether or not Maggie survives on top of the lookout tower, and whether or not the community as a whole survives, whoever is left after the zombie horde is dealt with will then have a new menace to deal with. Forbes reports that Negan is coming, someone who, in The Walking Dead comic books, makes the Terminus leaders look “about as threatening as Sam.”

Jeffrey Dean Morgan has been cast to play Negan in The Walking Dead and he is more than a little thrilled. When his agent told him about it, Morgan knew exactly what part it was, even if his agent didn’t know the name of the character.

“And I’m like, ‘Is it f***in’ Negan? It’s f***in’ Negan, and I’m f***in’ doing it. Mostly, I can say ‘f***’ all the time.'”

Morgan’s colorful reaction was in light of the fact that in the comic books Negan is known for his foul mouth, as well as for his brutality. On The Walking Dead show, Negan’s language will have to be toned down to follow FCC guidelines. Considering the F-word is a huge part of Negan’s vocabulary, this is posing a challenge to the show’s writers. Even Morgan agrees it is a problem.

“Look, it’s a speed bump. I’m not going to say it’s an issue because they’re working on it. We’re going to push AMC — the plan is to push them as far as they can because it’s who Negan is. He uses some colorful language. And I use some colorful language. And reading the comic, it’s important. So we’ll see where that lands. It’s our intention that this character is going to leap off the pages of the comic book. It’s very important that that’s who it is. Some of the characters there’s much more leeway, but Negan is a guy that you want to keep as true as possible, and that would be how I want to play him as well.”

Considering the amount of adult content in terms of gore and brutality at the hands of walkers and humans on the show, many say it is ridiculous for anyone to be so concerned with Negan’s language.

According to Cinema Blend, about the only type of walker that will never be seen on the show is a completely bare skeleton, which means there will always be gross zombies on the loose. Why no skeletons? Greg Nicotero, the makeup artist for The Walking Dead, explains.

“The only thing you’ll never see is a Ray Harryhausen[-inspired], perfectly clean skeleton walking around because obviously, there’s no muscle. We still try to keep to the reality of [needing] muscle to move the bone to move the body, but it’s just something that we continue to push every season with new sculptures and pushing the elements of what we can.”

Well, that does explain a lot about the walkers, doesn’t it?

[Composite image containing photos by Jason Merritt, Craig Barritt/Getty Images]

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