AMC has finally put a face to the name of the most dreaded villain of ‘The Walking Dead” to date. TV Line confirms that the “Good Wife” actor Jeffrey Dean Morgan is joining the zombie apocalypse drama TV series this season as the newest big bad, Negan.
The 49-year-old actor is expected to make his debut towards the end of the season and is likely to return in Season 7 as a series regular, although AMC still needs to make a confirmation about the report.
Morgan’s latest stint isn’t expected to have an immediate impact on his “Good Wife” duties as AMC’s hit show’s annual production hiatus usually begins late November and continues on until late spring, TV Line reports.
It looks like the charming investigator Jason won’t be back for the “Good Wife” in Season 8 which makes sense since the “Red Dawn” actor’s contract for the CBS drama will end after the current Season 7.
Fans of “The Walking Dead” have been waiting when the show will introduce Negan. Their hopes were lifted up when the show issued a casting call notice last month for the role of Orin, an imposing, charismatic, brutal, frightening, and hilarious sociopath in his 30s to mid-40s that is both a leader and killer of men.
Showrunner Scott M. Gimple was coy when he was asked if Orin was actually Negan. Gimple said that he can neither confirm nor deny it, but he said that it is not the worst guess in the world. Turns out, fans were right with their wild guesses.
As per Den of Geek, Negan is the ultimate bad guy in Robert Kirkman’s “The Walking Dead” graphic novels. Negan is the leader of a group of survivors called the Saviors. His character appeared in issue #100 of the comic books.
However, the group isn’t interested in helping others. Instead, they terrorize safe-haven communities forcing them to exchange food and supplies for safety and protections. Those that go against their ways, pay the price.
In the comic books, Rick and his crew kill a couple members of the Saviors and Negan retaliates by getting back at Rick and some of his crew while they are outside the walls of Alexandria.
Interestingly, Negan is the reason for Glenn’s demise in the comics. As payback for the death of some of the Saviors, Negan uses his weapon, a bat covered in barbed wire named Lucille, to beat Glenn to death.
Of course, fans know that AMC’s “The Walking Dead” doesn’t exactly follow the comics’ play by play. In episode 3 of Season 6, Steven Yuen’s Glenn was sent to his seeming death after Nicholas, played by Michael Traynor, shot himself in the head.
The two were on top of a dumpster surrounded by walkers when Nicholas decided to end his life. His lifeless body collapsed onto Glenn, knocking him off the dumpster and into the pile of walkers.
The arrival of Negan adds a whole new twist to the current mystery revolving on Glenn’s fate. Whether Glenn is still alive or really dead is one of the biggest puzzles this season has crafted for viewers.
Speculations say that Glenn is actually alive and was held captive by Negan’s group. The character has been a fan-favorite and it is unlikely that producers and writers of the show would give him that kind of a send-off.
The past two episodes aren’t of any help as it didn’t give any hint about Glenn. Speaking to “Talking Dead,” Gimple says that some version or at least parts of Glenn will be revisited in Season 6.
However, Ross Marquand, who plays Aaron, told ComicBook.com that the big Glenn reveal is right around the corner and possibly in the next few episodes. Marquand adds that writers don’t intend to suspense the audience all season long regarding Glenn’s fate.