‘The Walking Dead’: Scott M. Gimple Says Negan Is ‘Not A Bad Guy At All’ In ‘TWD’ Comic Books
The Walking Dead Season 6 finale is coming up and after an eternity of waiting, Negan is supposed to make his brutal introduction. TWD fans that read Robert Kirkman’s comic books already have an idea of what to expect from the villain. However, showrunner Scott M. Gimple said that Negan is not a bad guy at all in the comics, but also doesn’t deny that Jeffrey Dean Morgan’s character is the ultimate bully.
Warning: Possible spoilers ahead!
In The Walking Dead comic books, Negan makes his debut in the 100th issue. It isn’t a gradual introduction either. The TWD villain shows up with the Saviors while Rick’s group is resting. He announces that someone must pay for the slaughter of his people. Negan and his spiked bat, Lucille, waste no time reducing Glenn to a pile of shattered bones and oozing brain matter. What makes it worse is that Negan kills Glenn in front of everyone, including Maggie, who is pregnant in the comic books.
#TheWalkingDead will introduce Negan in a way that respects the comics, says Gimple https://t.co/G3uAwrWt5b pic.twitter.com/mvuEWXjFgn
— Comic Book Resources (@CBR) March 23, 2016
TV Line speculated that Negan will arrive in The Walking Dead Season 6 finale. However, there is debate on who will get “Lucilled.” Some predict it will be Steven Yeun’s character, Glenn, just like in the TWD comic books. Others believe Morgan (Lennie James) will be killed because his peaceful nature is similar to the comic book version of Glenn. There are others who believe another character will exit the AMC zombie series, such as Carol Peletier (Melissa McBride), Maggie Greene (Lauren Cohan), Abraham Ford (Michael Cudlitz), Daryl Dixon (Normal Reedus), or even baby Judith Grimes.
With all the speculation on Negan, it was only natural for showrunner Scott M. Gimple to speak about the villain in an interview. However, his description of Negan isn’t exactly what fans of The Walking Dead expected.
“When I was first reading about Negan in the books and talking to [The Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman] about it, I was blown away with this character,” Gimple told Entertainment Weekly about what makes Negan different from other villains. “Through another lens, he’s not a bad guy at all in the comic. He does some horrible things, but our people do some horrible things. He is, though, this unrepentant a-hole. He is somebody who is the ultimate bully.”
Jeffrey Dean Morgan will be amazing as NEGAN. Can't wait pic.twitter.com/5pEcjqB34E
— Ryan The Lion™ (@HerculesHandy) March 22, 2016
There are a lot of TWD fans who may disagree with part of Gimple’s statement. Although on the TV show Rick’s group started the war with Negan, the character is not innocent. “Not a bad guy at all” is the complete opposite of how Negan is described by comic book readers. However, The Walking Dead showrunner is accurate when saying Negan is unrepentant and the ultimate bully.
According to the TWD showrunner, Negan is also an excellent strategist, charismatic, and a force of nature. Gimple explained that the villain does horrific things, but Negan has a reason for his brutality. Another interesting tidbit from the interview is that Scott M. Gimple insists Negan is not a psychopath.
“He’s not a psychopath, and in some ways, he has this bizarre sort of empathy to him. It’s bizarre that he actually does have some empathy and he does have a system and he does have, in some ways, even reason,” Scott M. Gimple explained to EW. “There are a lot of moments that are so terrifying because you can’t reason with him because he’s made up his mind on something. But he does reason things out. He isn’t just some psychopath. He’s such an enjoyable character to read. He’s been an enjoyable character to write, although a lot of it is Robert’s writing from the book. I would just say you haven’t seen anything like him on The Walking Dead.”
As previously reported by the Inquisitr, The Walking Dead Season 6 finale is titled “Last Day On Earth” and will be extended to 90 minutes. Everyone knows Negan is coming, but how similar will the TV character be from the comic book villain?
[Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images]
