‘The Walking Dead’ Spoilers: Andrew Lincoln Talks About Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Negan, And The Season 6 Finale

Negan is finally going to make his appearance on the season 6 finale of The Walking Dead. The anticipation of Jeffrey Dean Morgan’s entrance as the iconic villain from the TWD comic books has been growing for more than a year now. Andrew Lincoln recently spoke with Entertainment Weekly about the impact of Negan on the AMC hit series, as well as what it’s like to work with Morgan, who plays the newest villain. Check out what Lincoln had to say about his new co-star.

“You know …” Lincoln said of the season 6 finale. “Just get ready, man. Just get ready.” Lincoln went on to say that Greg Nicotero, who directed the episode, has called this the best one yet. Then the actor who plays Rick Grimes on The Walking Dead agreed with him. “I read the script and I went, ‘This is the greatest entrance ever written.’ ”

Remember this as the last time you see his smile as anything other than pure evil. Forget Winter, #Negan IS COMING pic.twitter.com/twTo7GQvz5

— The Walking Dead (@TheWalkingDead) April 2, 2016

“All of the guys were going, ‘Aw, man. I wish I had gotten this guy!'” Lincoln said of Jeffrey Dean Morgan joining the AMC series. “It’s incredible. Although it’s also kind of unbearable. Norman and I were like, ‘Ugh, all the girls on set are gonna love him.'”

It’s not just the TWD ladies who love Jeffrey Dean Morgan. He’s pretty popular on set with everyone. Even Robert Kirkman has said that the character of Negan is complex, and fans will both love him and hate him. Despite being psychotic and terrifying, Negan also runs his group of Saviors based on a code that he developed while surviving the zombie apocalypse, just like Rick and his group. The Walking Dead fans will have to ask themselves if they would be rooting for Negan instead of Rick if the series had started out by following him and his story instead of Rick’s story of survival.

Jeffrey Dean Morgan talks Negan’s debut on @WalkingDead_AMC & he’s “prepped for hate mail.” https://t.co/OwTJOrOcxy pic.twitter.com/MTpYkxFMdS

— EntertainmentTonight (@etnow) April 1, 2016

A recent leak of an 11-minute audio containing the introduction of Negan has earned reviews of awe and terror. AMC has requested most websites who posted the audio to take it down, but the transcript is still posted on TWD Enthusiasts. The AMC series’ introduction of the new villain followed the comic books pretty closely as far as dialog, except that definite pronouns have been removed and it’s hard to tell the gender of Negan’s victim now, leading many to believe that he might take a woman as his victim instead of Glenn like the comics.

The season 6 finale of The Walking Dead is said to be 90-minutes long instead of the typical 60-minutes. It has been hailed as possibly the best episode in the history of the show, and as far as fans are concerned, it’s definitely one of the most highly anticipated. After a few seasons of still good, but stagnant ratings, viewership of the AMC series has climbed steadily since the season 6 mid-season premiere.

Ratings are expected to increase with the addition of Jeffrey Dean Morgan, who has the respect of the TWD fanbase, as well as the cast.

“He’s just the coolest guy and everybody loves him,” says Lincoln of Morgan. “Jeffrey’s such a great guy and I’ve been a huge admirer of his since he played the Comedian [in Watchmen] and everything else he’s done. We’re going to have a lot of fun. Honestly, we are so thrilled to have him. We’re lucky people.”

Rick went on to talk about how much it means to The Walking Dead to have an actor with the credentials and ability of Morgan. It sounds like even Rick would be a Negan fan, if only the two weren’t enemies.

“We’ve been talking about this guy for a long time. It’s probably the most important casting since Rick, really. Everybody needs a hero, but I think they probably need a really good baddie even more. Negan’s incredibly charismatic. In this deranged society, there is a kind of logic to the way that he is running the place. He runs a tight ship, I’ll tell you that much. I’m actually very impressed. I doff my cap to this man!”

So there you have it. Fans of The Walking Dead are going to love to hate Negan. According to Andrew Lincoln, the casting of Jeffrey Dean Morgan as Negan was almost as important as Rick Grimes himself, and we can expect to be kept on the edge of our seats by the newest TWD villain for at least the next season, if not longer.

Be sure to tune in for the season 6 finale of The Walking Dead airing Sunday on AMC at 9 p.m.

[Photo by Paul Morigi/Getty Images]