When David Morrissey was turning in his brilliantly evil run as “The Governor” on AMC’s THE WALKING DEAD, it was hard to imagine any villain being worse or more despicable than what he portrayed. Well, you haven’t met Negan. Let’s just say in the comics, he’s got The Governor beat, and becomes a thorn in the side of Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) that fans will love to hate. He’s also responsible for the death of at least one major character that will stun audiences, should that scene play out on the show. And now the show has its Negan, in the form of actor Jeffrey Dean Morgan. The Hollywood Reporter broke the news that Morgan will arrive in the sixth season finale as Negan, the baseball bat-weilding psychopathic leader of The Saviors. He calls his baseball bat “Lucille”, and that bat is gonna do some bad stuff. It’s rumored that the role was tested with other actors like Timothy Olyphant, Matt Dillon and Garret Dillahunt before Morgan won the role. Negan was introduced in the 100th issue of the comic book series, and at this time is still alive as of issue 145.
Series star Andrew Lincoln previously hinted at Negan with THR in an interview, stating “there are astonishingly brilliant and thrilling characters that I am convinced we would be idiots not to meet in our journey; I would be very surprised if we don’t see Negan on the horizon in the not-too-distant future.”
“What struck me, that I’ve always been excited about, is we’re coming into the sixth season of this show … and it’s the medieval part of The Walking Dead comic, where you realize that there are these isolated communities but don’t really know other ones exist,” Lincoln said. “But they’re all building and forming themselves with their own image. And then there’s a clash of those communities. That, to me, is really interesting and when it gets really exciting with all the action. It turns into this insane, near-apocalyptic landscape that we’ve never seen before. That is almost a reimagining and a restart for society and humanity. And that is such a rich thing to tell.”
Morgan will soon be seen as Thomas Wayne, Bruce Wayne’s father, in BATMAN V SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE. How do you feel about Jeffery Dean Morgan’s casting? Let us know in the comments!
Born and raised in Dallas, Mark has been a movie critic since 1994, with reviews featured in print, radio and National TV. In 2001 he started the Entertainment section of the Herorealm website, where he contributed film reviews and celebrity interviews until 2004. After three years of service there, he started Bigfanboy.com, which has become one of the Dallas film community's leading information websites. Bigfanboy hosts several movie screenings in the Texas area, and works closely with film and TV studios and promotional partners to host exciting events and contests. The site also features a variety of rare celebrity and filmmaker interviews, and Bigfanboy.com regularly covers the film festival circuit as well. In addition to Hollywood reporting, Mark has worked for many years as an advertising and sci-fi/comic book artist. Clients have included Lucasfilm Ltd., Topps Trading Cards, The Dallas Mavericks and The Dallas Stars. From 2002 until 2015 he managed the Dallas Comic Con, Sci-Fi Expo and Fan Days events in the DFW area. He currently catalogs rare comic books and movie memorabilia for Heritage Auctions, and runs the Dallas Comic Show conventions, but remains an avid moviegoer and cinema buff. 
