Cailey Fleming -- who plays Judith Grimes on AMC's The Walking Dead -- suspects Jeffrey Dean Morgan's Negan is primed to turn over a new leaf when the show returns for Season 10.
At Fan Fest New Jersey, Fleming was asked if Negan could become a "good guy" in The Walking Dead's next season. "Yes," she responded. "I am hopeful because I believe in him."
Fleming elaborated her thought, adding, "In the season finale of Season 9, you can see all the different sides of him. And you can see how he has a special bond with Judith, and I think that's gonna take him places in Season 10."
Having previously led the antagonistic Saviors, Negan would risk his life to save Judith from a blizzard during the Season 9 finale. This came about after she went searching for Daryl's missing pet, Dog. His actions would earn him the respect of Judith's mother, Michonne.
Addressing the relationship between Negan and Judith on an episode of The Talking Dead, showrunner Angela Kang said, "[Negan] legitimately is fond of Judith. Just as he respected Carl, she's spunky, and she's funny, and she's really smart, and she's really tough. And Negan had a background working with children before the apocalypse, and so this is somebody that he legitimately has a friendship with and cares about."
Despite this character development, however, Kang is quick to remind fans "Negan is Negan. As we've seen in the episode, he still has that part of him that likes to needle people, he's always gonna have an edge, he's never like a pure hero."
AMC's The Walking Dead stars Norman Reedus, Danai Gurira, Melissa McBride, Josh McDermitt, Christian Serratos, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Nadia Hilker, Dan Fogler, Angel Theory, Lauren Ridloff and Eleanor Matsuura. The series returns for its 10th season in October.
(via ComicBook.com)