Here's Why Fans Think Negan Is Leaving 'The Walking Dead' Ahead of the Series Finale

In the Season 6 finale of The Walking Dead, we were introduced to one of the longest-surviving villains in the show’s history. 

Since his debut in 2016, Marion Negan (played by Jeffrey Dean Morgan) and his baseball bat, Lucille, have been wreaking havoc all over what was formerly the state of Georgia, but recent episodes have fans wondering if Negan’s story has finally come to an end.

Negan has escaped death on more than one occasion, and a recent interview with Collider revealed that Negan will remain part of The Walking Dead cast until the very end. Jeffrey Dean Morgan says that, like viewers, he was surprised by the show’s cancellation, but it appears that he will appear as a regular in the show’s 24-episode final season. 

Jeffrey said of the show’s cancellation, “The news, when we got it in the middle of the pandemic, was a complete surprise, not only to me and the rest of the actors but to everybody involved in the show from production. Scott Gimple and Angela Kang had no idea either. It came from nowhere and there was such a huge pivot."

At the time of the interview, which was published on March 31, Jeffrey said that he had just filmed Episode 3 of Season 11. He added, “We’ve been here for two months, so we’re really taking our time. We’re doing 24 episodes, I think. It doesn’t feel like the end yet and I’m glad because that’s a long time to be thinking about the end. We have another year here to shoot, and we’re shooting straight through. It’s brutal.”

Although Jeffrey, who joined the series nearly five years ago, was reportedly in talks to appear on Eric Kripke’s The Boys, the actor said that his time spent on The Walking Dead was unmatched. 

He shared, "It’s become such a part of my life, and a part of everyone’s life that’s in the show, that it’s hard to reconcile the fact this will be over in a year from now. Well, in fact, I will still be here a year from now, but you know what I mean.”

Despite the fact that the show is ending, Jeffrey said The Walking Dead still has “a lot of story to tell.” Recently, viewers got a glimpse into Negan’s backstory and met the woman who his infamous baseball bat is named after, Lucille. 

Fans will be surprised to know that there was nothing theatrical about the chemistry between Negan and his on-screen wife, Lucille. In fact, the couple are married in real life. In an interview with Forbes, Hilarie Burton Morgan opened up about what it was like to work with her husband on-set.

She explained, “It was really wonderful. We have a really similar energy on-set. Neither one of us takes ourselves very seriously. We like joking around.” 

Hilarie added, “If there was ever a time for people to understand Negan’s aggression or his way of doing things, I feel like the entire world has been prepped for that over the last year. So Lucille comes in as the person who loves him the most and loves him even with his flaws. Perhaps the audience if they don’t already love him, which they should, perhaps they can follow Lucille’s example and love him through the tough stuff.”

You can watch new episodes of The Walking Dead on AMC at 9 p.m. EST on Sundays.