‘The Walking Dead’ Season 7: Robert Kirkman Teases ‘Different’ Negan, Hints Exciting Premiere

The season 6 finale of the AMC series “The Walking Dead” gave viewers their first look at the villain Negan. In the upcoming season 7, fans will see a different Negan who will bring a big change to the series, according to creator Robert Kirkman.

Negan’s arrival was one of the highly anticipated moments in the show’s sixth season. The villain, played by Jeffrey Dean Morgan, made his appearance in the last few scenes of the season 6 finale. However, Morgan’s introduction to the zombie apocalyptic TV series as the villain was overshadowed by the fans’ frustrations over the cliffhanger ending.

In an interview with Uproxx, “The Walking Dead” creator Robert Kirkman said he was “upset” that the viewers were not talking about Morgan’s portrayal of the villain. He described the former “The Good Wife” actor as “absolutely amazing” in bringing Negan to life on the small screen. Kirkman also stated that avid fans of the AMC series will see a “different” Negan in the show’s new season.

The showrunner also commented on the season 6 cliffhanger where the identity of the person killed by Negan was not revealed.

“I know people don’t like the cliffhanger aspect of it, but I like to think that everything up to that moment was pretty amazing, and people were digging it,” Kirkman said. He added that viewers would be “seeing stuff like that pretty much every episode” in the upcoming season 7, but clarified that new episodes will “not necessarily” end in cliffhangers.

He also warned that Morgan’s Negan will be an “ever-present, constant threat” to Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) and his gang in the upcoming new season. Kirkman even said Negan would be the catalyst who will “change everything moving forward” in the AMC series. “Season seven is going to be really cool. I couldn’t be more excited about it,” he added.

New characters that fans may expect to see in the new season are Ezekiel and his pet tiger named Shiva. The show’s production team may use “a mix of animatronics and CGI” to depict Shiva, according to The Spoiling Dead Fans. The actor to play the character Ezekiel has yet to be disclosed.

Filming for season 7 is ongoing. “The Walking Dead” is expected to return in October.