‘Walking Dead’ Season 6 Spoilers: Showrunner Comments On Negan Speculation

Forget about the Governor and the Wolves. “The Walking Dead” could potentially introduce a new villain that would make their gruesome and evil acts look like child’s play.

Season 6 of the hit AMC zombie drama is only a few months away, and fans are ready for the next phase of drama now that the survivors are holed up at the Alexandria Safe Zone. Walls may surround the community, but that doesn’t mean they’re safe. Walkers and other threats lurk outside the walls while the survivors butt heads over how to live through the apocalypse.

Could one of the upcoming threats be comic book villain Negan? It’s a rumor that’s been circulating for the past few seasons, and “Walking Dead” showrunner Scott M. Gimple is commenting on the speculation.

“It’s absolutely a possibility,” he dished to Entertainment Weekly of the arrival of Negan. “And when I say it’s a possibility, we have a plan in place, but there’s a couple variables for that plan that we’re deciding about. It really depends on a few factors as we move into setting up the last bit of the season story-wise.”

So, did Gimple just reveal that Negan might appear at the end of Season 6? It’s certainly a “possibility.”

Although AMC’s TV series is based off of the comics, it doesn’t exactly stick to the pages. Characters that do not appear in the pages of the comics have been introduced, and others that have died in the comics are still alive on the show. With that said, the series does use the comics as a jumping off point. If Negan were to be introduced, it would come around this point in the story.

As mentioned earlier, Rick (Andrew Lincoln) and his band of survivors are now with the Alexandria folks behind the wall. When Season 5 left off, the leader of Alexandria, Deanna (Tovah Feldshuh), was debating on exiling Rick after he displayed some disturbing behavior. Things became chaotic when a mentally unstable Father Gabriel (Seth Gilliam) left the gate open, accidentally letting in walkers. Rick killed the walkers, but that wasn’t the end of the trouble. An angry Pete (Corey Brill) wanted revenge on Rick and tried to attack him with Michonne’s (Danai Gurira) katana. Pete accidentally killed Deanna’s husband, Reg (Steve Coulter), and Deanna gave Rick permission to kill Pete. Daryl (Norman Reedus) returned with Morgan (Lennie James) just in time to watch Rick shoot Pete in the head.

In the comics, Negan and his group, called “The Saviors,” show up shortly after Ricks’ group sets up camp at Alexandria. The Saviors were part of another community called the Hilltop Colony. However, they eventually branched off to start their own group. They began to terrorize other humans, demanding supplies and food in exchange for “protection.” Of course, Rick’s band of survivors was forced to kill some of them, which resulted in Negan retaliating. He kills two major characters in the comics.
Last September it was reported that Kevin Durand of FX’s “The Strain” was in talks to play the comic book villain. He allegedly told reporters during a press call that he was “approached” for the role. No other names have been attached to the character.

Season 6 of “The Walking Dead” will premiere on AMC on Oct. 11.