We’re coming up on the Season 7 premiere of The Walking Dead in a little less than a month from now and everyone’s on edge about who will be on the receiving end of Negan’s bat. We’ll all have to wait and see who gets it but in the meantime, the cast and creators of the show talk on why Negan is a character that everyone will love to hate. See what everyone has to say on the subject below.
The Walking Dead returns to AMC October 23 at 9/8c.
He’s “charming” and a “sadist.” He’s “charismatic” and a “cold-blooded killer.” He’s Negan. Now that he and Lucille are here, things will never be the same for the survivors. So how does Negan change the world ofThe Walking Dead? What should fans expect? Read on to get the answer from the people who know best, the cast and creators…
Andrew Lincoln (Rick): “The Governor was much more about secrets. You didn’t know what the Governor was doing. Negan is very clear. He is very open with the people he meets. There is a charm, but there is a terrifying logic as well.”
Norman Reedus (Daryl): “Negan is a cold-blooded killer and he’s got the numbers. He’s got an army of people who all call themselves Negan. They are doing everything he says. There’s no way around that right now.”
Steven Yeun (Glenn): “The threats that we have experienced are not even close to the threats that are really truly out there.”
Chandler Riggs (Carl): “Negan is a very charming character, but at the same time a psychopath. Negan is by far the most dangerous character we’ve come across yet. You are going to hate to love him.”
Lauren Cohan (Maggie): “…Negan is this complete sadist that takes so much pleasure out of inflicting such great pain on people. To me, Negan feels like this horrible undercurrent that’s been there the whole time that we haven’t realized, and now it’s rearing its head from every doorway you can imagine. It’s like how bulls have little flocks of birds that live on their backs. We’ve been there not knowing we were all sleeping on this giant scary bull. We are upended.”
Danai Gurrira (Michonne): “They have never seen this type of force in this world yet. The game has changed. We hope we can still play it.”
Sonequa Martin-Green (Sasha): “He is using psychological abuse. That makes him different and more dangerous than anyone we have ever faced before. In his mind, he is more valuable than anyone else and that is sickening.”
Michael Cudlitz (Abraham): “It’s a dangerous world, and it appears it is run by one guy that we knew nothing about. We have no idea of the size, scope, command, and the tentacles that this group has. There are no answers, and we are not in a position to get them, because, in this moment, we don’t matter.”
Christian Serratos (Rosita): “He has no empathy.”
Josh McDermitt (Eugene): “It’s a pretty sadistic game that Negan is playing using a child’s game to kill someone. It’s so nonchalant and everyday for him. It lets you know you are not in charge. You are not the ones pulling the strings anymore. This is a scary time for this group.”
Seth Gilliam (Father Gabriel): “Negan introduces calculated brutality. That is a very different dynamic than we’ve seen in this world.”
Ross Marquand (Aaron): “Negan has been a pervasive threat for most of last season. Even before he was revealed, there is this notion that he is everywhere. He is this ubiquitous force of negativity and darkness that is very terrifying. Just when they think they have the upper hand, they realize that they have only touched the tip of the iceberg. There is so much beneath what they think they know.”
Austin Amelio (Dwight): “Negan is this weird dichotomy of someone that you hate and he protects you at the same time.”
Scott M. Gimple (Executive Producer, Showrunner, Writer): “Negan has an incredible amount of power, both in his cult personality and his practical man power. He has legions and legions of people who identify themselves as him. He’s got a system that has worked very well by him and it fairly immediately neutralized Rick and his group, who are quite formidable. Negan knows people. He knows human nature. He knows himself. For a powerful and smart person to know human nature that well – that is very dangerous.”
Gale Anne Hurd (Executive Producer): “The fans should fear the most that Negan is capable of killing anyone. Anyone that you may love on the show in a split second could be gone.”
Robert Kirkman (Executive Producer): “The character of Negan, especially how Jeffrey Dean Morgan portrays him, is so warm and engaging, while threatening and terrifying. You don’t want him to kill you, but you are engaged in the entire scenario and you don’t want him to stop talking. Because of that, his character is going to be very well-loved despite what he does.”
Greg Nicotero (Executive Producer, Director, Special Effects Makeup Supervisor): “Negan is charismatic and you find yourself holding on every sick word that he is saying. You can’t take your eyes off of him. You can’t not listen to what he is saying because he is magnetic. The fact that he does these absolutely reprehensible things while he is spouting this excruciating, colorful, completely out-of-left-field dialogue – the character is captivating.”
