The Walking Dead
"The Walking Dead" character Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln), pictured in the Season 6 premiere episode, may have to face his greatest villain yet, according to series creator Robert Kirkman (not pictured). AMC

With “The Walking Dead” Season 6 looming ever closer, fans of Robert Kirkman’s comic book source material can only guess where the series will take the characters next. Luckily, while speaking at the New York Comic Con, the creator teased some major plot details, including the introduction of a highly anticipated villain.

Kirkman couldn’t give away too many details about the new season, but he did echo the previous sentiments of showrunner Scott Gimple, who has been teasing more walkers since the end of Season 5.

“Things are getting intense, finally,” the writer teased. “This is the most intense season of ‘The Walking Dead’ yet. The first few episodes really hit the ground running. There’s big cliffhangers at the end of every episode and it’s just a lot of cool stuff.”

As comic book fans know [SPOILER ALERT], Rick Grimes and company properly secure the not-so-safe zone and encounter some new communities of survivors in the area. While readers likely want to see the members of the Hilltop Colony and the characters that come with it, what the inclusion of new communities really does is introduce the villain Negan.

Without rehashing a lot of Negan’s backstory, it’s safe to say that a majority of fans are champing at the bit to see this heinous bad guy brought to life on the TV series. Kirkman, to his credit, has obviously heard this call loud and clear, and he makes no bones about sharing his thoughts on the matter.

“I think it would be very cool if Negan were to be introduced in the show,” he told the crowd to thunderous applause. “I don’t know when that’ll happen though. … I mean, I do, but I can’t say.”

So, while Kirkman stopped short of saying when Negan would be introduced in the series, his phrasing indicates that plans have been set in motion and a select few people affiliated with the show know not only that Negan is coming, but when he is coming. In fact, when a fan asked again about the villain, Kirkman mouthed the words “soon" to the crowd.

Unfortunately, Kirkman is a very jovial man in interviews, which often means it’s hard to tell where the line of teaser and joke begins and ends, something he played with incessantly during his panel talk. For example, when asked by the moderator who will die in Season 6 and how, Kirkman responded, without hesitation, an answer designed to rile up the crowd.

“Daryl Dixon,” he joked. “I would say decapitation, but that’s not all of it. Norman [Reedus] is a jerk. We don’t want to work with him anymore.”

“The Walking Dead” returns for Season 6 on Sunday on AMC.

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