Norman Reedus and Jeffrey Dean Morgan Talk Negan, Season 9's Fresh Approach
The Walking Dead actors take a look ahead at what's in store for Negan and the season as a whole.
By Chris Morse
A new interview for The Walking Dead from San Diego Comic-Con has surfaced, this time from Variety. Actors Norman Reedus and Jeffrey Dean Morgan sat down to discuss next season, hitting topics such as new showrunner Angela Kang's fresh approach, what's in store for Negan, and how there is going to be deeper-rooted storytelling with the new direction.
Reedus has nothing but positive things to say about Kang, who is taking over from Scott Gimple, the series showrunner and executive producer for the past four seasons. "She’s always been my favorite writer," he said. "The whole train is run by women this year, so it’s a different vibe." When asked how it's different, he added, "There was a lot of chest-bumping, guys-vs-guys and whatever, but this year, it’s more sentimental, deeper-rooted storytelling, it feels like."
Regarding the change of showrunner, Reedus continued to gush about the new life Kang was bringing to the series and once again echoed the "western" feel that's been hinted at leading up to and during Comic-Con earlier this month.
[blockquote-0]Morgan added his own thoughts, agreeing wholeheartedly that this new approach is a good one and giving his own endorsement of Kang's credentials.
[blockquote-1]The interview then shifted focus over to Negan, who is now imprisoned after being spared by Rick following the all-out war between the colonies and the Saviors. He's in a very different place than he was a season ago, so how is he dealing with this and what might be in store for him as he sits in a cell every day? Morgan shared his own insight as to what might be going through the character's head when his story picks back up in season 9.
[blockquote-2]Reedus vouched for Morgan's words with his own two cents on the character as well. "I will say that I saw some cell scenes this year and Jeffrey killed it," he said. "It was a very different Negan, like he’s saying." There is no doubt that the prison life doesn't suit the barbed-wire baseball bat-carrying villain, so it will be interesting to see how his character might grow over the new season.
In terms of the character, this is completely new territory for him, as Morgan explained in more detail.
[blockquote-3]The actor might be itching to see Negan get out of that cell almost as much as the character himself. "I do like my visiting hours," Morgan explained. "The thing with Negan, as we all know, is he likes to talk so it’s important that people come and visit him. As an actor, it’s been okay, but as the character, I could be itching to get the hell out of there. I think he’s there to kind of stir things up a little bit."
We could definitely see that being the case. Might Negan be free again before the end of season 9? Only time will tell for that idea. For now, though, we'll have to wait and see when The Walking Dead returns to AMC on October 7th.
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