'The Walking Dead': Robert Kirkman on when we might see Negan

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The Governor met his demise in the midseason finale of The Walking Dead through a combination of Michonne’s sword, Lilly’s gun, and his own warped thirst for power and revenge. Once he stopped stumbling around like a homeless hippie and got his evil, power-hungry mojo back, the Governor doomed himself and now we won’t have to look at his sorry face again. (Blame Lilly for that, for had she not shot him in the head, we at least had the possibility of seeing him come back as the first ever eye-patched pirate zombie, which would be only, like, the raddest thing ever. Yes, even radder than the baseball player and Hare Krishna zombies from the original Dawn of the Dead.)

But now that the Governor is gone for good, it got us thinking: When might we see that other iconic villain from The Walking Dead comic book make it to the small screen? I’m referring, of course, to Negan. For those who have not read the comics on which the hit AMC show is based, Negan is the leader of a group called the Saviors. He curses up a storm, wields a baseball bat covered in barbed wire that he affectionately calls Lucille, and is also directly responsible for the brutal death of a major character that we will not reveal here because said character is currently still alive on the TV version.

There is quite a bit of time between the appearance of the Governor (who died in issue 48 of the comic) and Negan (who first appeared in dramatic fashion in issue 100), but we figured we’d come right out and ask Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman if there were any plans to bring the other big baddie onto the show and any sort of timetable for when we might see him. So we did! And here’s what he said:

“Well, there was a lot of breathing room in the comics between them,” says Kirkman. “Whether or not we have the same amount of breathing room, or if we do cut that down a little bit and bring him into the show a little early remains to be seen. But I definitely do think there needs to be some kind of space from a Governor into a Negan. You have to have something of a break in there. So I wouldn’t expect him to be showing up — definitely not in season 4. I don’t know. I wouldn’t expect it too soon. But we are all very excited about the prospect of bringing that guy into the show. The plan is that we will see him eventually.”

So there you have it straight from the creator’s mouth. We will see Negan at some point, but “definitely” not this season. Which surely makes at least one character very, very happy.

What do you think? Would you like to see Negan on the show? And which actor should play him? Hit the message boards and cast the role! And for more Walking Dead scoop, follow Dalton on Twitter @DaltonRoss.