The Walking Dead's Negan Promises S7 Remains Faithful to the Comic

CBR

By Dan Caffrey

Published Oct 20, 2016

Though he admits some things have been changed, Jeffrey Dean Morgan says much of S7's scenes are pulled 'verbatim' from the comic.

Obviously, Jeffrey Dean Morgan -- and any other actor on AMC's "The Walking Dead," for that matter -- can't say a whole lot about the upcoming seventh season, which premieres this Sunday, October 23.

However, during our recent interview with him about the film "Desierto," where he plays a monstrous vigilante who hunts down undocumented Mexican immigrants, the actor took time to answer a few questions about his "TWD" role as Negan.

Asked how closely the seventh season will follow the source material's "All Out War" arc, Morgan was understandably coy -- though he did offer a few hints for fans of both the show and comic. "I'm not supposed to say anything about anything," he explained. "But it's kind of impossible not to. What we've shot thus far is very close to the comic. Obviously, we've got things happening that aren't in the comic. But then there are scenes that are verbatim. A lot of Negan's monologues are taken directly from the books. And when [they are], we obviously try and do it two ways. We do the TV version, and then we do the Blu-ray 'fuck' version. But yeah, we're following it as closely as possible.

He also shared his thoughts on playing villains driven by a deep, torturous psyche. "I love a complex asshole," he said with a laugh. "I've played so many good guys in my life, so I relish playing a guy who's not so good. They're fun, and I have to approach them differently. In some cases, it's easier, and in some cases, it's harder as an actor. It's a little weird that 'Desierto' and 'The Walking Dead' are premiering within a week of each other. I think a lot of my fans will be tested by that. But as an actor, there's nothing better than running the gamut between playing a good guy and playing a bad guy, and everything in between."

"Desierto" is in theaters now; "The Walking Dead" kicks off its seventh season Sunday, October 23 on AMC.

Airing Sundays at 9 pm ET/PT on AMC, "The Walking Dead" stars Andrew Lincoln as Rick Grimes, Chandler Riggs as Carl Grimes, Norman Reedus as Daryl Dixon, Melissa McBride as Carol Peleteir, Steven Yeun as Glenn Rhee, Lauren Cohan as Maggie Green, Danai Gurira as Michonne and more.