GameSpot may receive revenue from affiliate and advertising partnerships for sharing this content and from purchases through links.

Walking Dead Villain Negan is Finally Cast

Jeffrey Dean Morgan will swing the bat.

25 Comments

One of the most notorious characters from the long-running comic book series The Walking Dead has been cast for AMC's hit TV version. Watchmen star Jeffrey Dean Morgan will take on the role of Negan, and can be expected to appear by the end of the current sixth season.

No Caption Provided

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the casting process for the character was an extensive one, with producers using the name "Orin" to keep the search a secret. Morgan is expected to appear as a special guest at the end of the season six, before joining the cast as a regular for season seven.

Negan was first introduced to the comics in 2012 as the leader of the brutal group known as The Saviors, and has quickly become one of the book's most iconic characters. The baseball bat-swinging villain was responsible for the the gruesome death of one of the comic's main characters in issue 100, and remains a part of the ongoing story in the latest issues.

Morgan is perhaps best known for playing The Comedian in Zack Snyder's 2009 adaption of Alan Moore's classic Watchmen graphic novel. He will reunite with Snyder to play Thomas Wayne in the upcoming Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and can currently be seen on the acclaimed CBS show The Good Wife.

Walking Dead showrunner Scott M. Gimple previously admitted that it would be "challenging" to introduce Negan to the series. "It's such a story turn in the comic," he told THR. "There's a particular story in that arc that I'm very excited for. But because we know where we're going, we have some opportunities to play around with it and put some things in that will lead up to [Negan's appearence] in different ways."

Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email news@gamespot.com

Join the conversation
There are 25 comments about this story