‘The Walking Dead:’ Negan In ‘TWD’ Longer Than Fans Thought? Jeffrey Dean Morgan Teases Seasons 7 And 8

Negan made his introduction in The Walking Dead Season 6 finale. Unfortunately, TWD fans are not happy that the “Lucilled” character was not revealed. Now, viewers will have to wait until October to find out which “beloved” character died a bloody death. Jeffrey Dean Morgan’s character will be in the Season 7 premiere of TWD. However, don’t expect the villain to be dealt with swiftly. The actor teased that Negan could be sticking around until Season 8.

As previously reported by the Inquisitr, Ezekiel and The Kingdom could be introduced in The Walking Dead during Season 7. For those unfamiliar with the TWD comic books, it is written that Ezekiel and The Kingdom join Rick, Jesus and other survival communities to defeat Negan. Keep in mind that this is not a spoiler for The Walking Dead Season 7, but is only a theory. When asked about the possibility of Ezekiel and The Kingdom, the showrunner would not give a solid answer.

“Those guys may or may not have been from The Kingdom,” Scott Gimple told ComicBook.com of the men seen in combat gear. “And we may or may not see The Kingdom. But if we do see the Kingdom, it’ll be a big reveal and another new world to inhabit and explore.”

If that is accurate, and The Kingdom is introduced in Season 7, don’t expect a quick victory. Preparing to battle Negan takes serious planning and preparation. According to Walking Dead Wikia, even the comic books had Ezekiel, Rick and Jesus planning their fight against Negan for weeks. As viewers already know, the TV show tends to drag things out even longer. It wouldn’t be surprising if the plan to take down Negan takes the entire first half of The Walking Dead Season 7.

Many TWD fans who have not read the comic books (including myself) thought that Negan would die during an attack next season. However, it turns out that Negan isn’t killed by The Kingdom in the comics. Instead, he is given a life sentence and put behind bars.

But that isn’t the end of Negan’s storyline in the AMC zombie apocalypse television series. TV Line reports that during a conference call, Jeffrey Dean Morgan has said Negan might stick around for The Walking Dead Seasons 7 and 8. It has also been stated that Negan will do some “not very nice” things in the next year or two.

Negan Cliffhanger: Burning questions for Season 7 of "The Walking Dead" https://t.co/17N0PCgGSp pic.twitter.com/nYbJfLMhWc

— IMDb (@IMDb) April 4, 2016

It turns out that Negan staying on the show makes sense. In The Walking Dead comic books, Negan was imprisoned but still had dialogue. At one point, Negan managed to escape his prison cell. Also, expect other groups to be introduced while Negan is still an issue. One possibility is a group of survivors called The Whisperers.

Based on what is known about Negan’s storyline in the comic books, it seems that there is plenty of material for the character in The Walking Dead TV show. While other TWD villains were dealt with pretty quickly, don’t expect this to happen with Jeffrey Dean Morgan’s character. He is too interesting to kill off right away. Also, with so much comic book material, fans could be seeing some fascinating storylines between Negan, Rick’s group and other survivors out in the world.

What do you think of Jeffrey Dean Morgan hinting Negan could stick around for Seasons 7 and 8 of The Walking Dead? Do you think Negan’s storyline will mirror the comics, or will it be changed for the TV show? Do you expect Ezekiel and The Kingdom to also appear next season? If so, how will Rick’s group handle working with another community that may have their own way of handling things?

[Photo by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images]