‘The Walking Dead’ season 7: Jeffrey Dean Morgan outlines Negan’s immediate future
So far through “The Walking Dead” season 7, Negan is one of the biggest forces on the screen. Not only that, but he’s a man who is in more scenes than almost anyone at this point. We’ve seen him murder Glenn and Abraham, torment Daryl, and belittle Rick on his home turf in Alexandria. The man is everywhere, and for the sake of the show, that’s probably a good thing given that the character is by and large enormously entertaining.
Is there a little Negan over-exposure? This is a common critique of the season so far, but a good counter-argument to that is that it’s better to have a villain who is overwhelming to one that is underwhelming and not doing anything to strike fear into hearts of anyone. Negan is also someone who is not going to be going away anytime soon.
(Warning: Potential spoilers ahead.)
Speaking on Howard Stern’s radio show this week, the man behind the role in Jeffrey Dean Morgan proclaimed that he is going to be returning as the character for the eighth season, and that he is set to have a really “heavy” presence in the final two episodes of the fall. It’s easy to almost-immediately respond to this comment with “oh, of course he’s going to be on the show next season, given that the show cast such a big name for this role,” but it’s not like there is this enormous track record for primarily villains lasting this long. Maybe we got a good bit of burn out of The Governor, but Gareth and the people at Terminus were a flash in the pan.
It’s also worth noting to take Morgan’s comments with a grain of salt, given that the precedent is now out there of “Walking Dead” actors lying in order to keep elements of the show a secret. It’s hard to blame Morgan if that is the case, but given the outlet he is speaking to here (Stern’s show is one of the more truthful venues out there, and he’ll call you out if he supposes that you’re telling a lie), we are inclined to buy into much of what he is selling.
The next episode of “The Walking Dead” (watch a preview for it here) airs this coming weekend on AMC. (Photo: AMC.)