Jeffrey Dean Morgan Joins Walking Dead Cast as… Infamous Villain Negan!
Jeffrey Dean Morgan is about to go from Good to really, really, really bad.
Sources confirm that the current Good Wife actor is joining The Walking Dead as one of the Biggest Bads of ’em all — dreaded comic book villain Negan.
Morgan’s killer of men is expected to debut toward the end of the AMC hit’s current sixth season (in other words, sometime this spring), and then return in Season 7 as a (likely) series regular.
Morgan’s new gig isn’t expected to have an immediate impact on his Good Wife duties since Walking Dead‘s annual production hiatus begins in late November and continues until late spring. That said, it seems unlikely that he would be able to bring his investigator character Jason back to the Good Wife next fall for a potential eighth season. (As it is, Morgan’s Good Wife deal was always just for the current Season 7).
Rumors about if and when The Walking Dead would introduce Negan have been churning for several years now. A big reason the character has been the source of so much speculation is because [SPOILER ALERT] in Robert Kirkman TWD comic series he eventually murders Glenn. Of course, the current mystery surrounding Glenn’s fate (and Steven Yeun future with the series) adds a whole new wrinkle to the Negan storyline.
Last month, The Walking Dead issued a casting notice for the role of “Orin,” an imposing, charismatic, brutal, frightening, ferocious and hilarious sociopath in his 30s to mid-40s that is both a leader (and killer) of men. When asked if “Orin” is actually “Negan,” showrunner Scott M. Gimple told me, “I can neither confirm nor deny,” before cheekily adding, “It’s not the worst guess in the world. It’s difficult to get around your logic here.”
Thoughts on the casting? Weird to think of JDM playing someone so… evil? Weigh in below!
Excellent casting choice.
Seriously. JDM is going to make an excellent villain!
Totally agree – you just know he is going to be brilliant. My burning question now, with all the people about to proclaim it definitely means he will kill Glenn, is whether Gimple is sitting in a dark corner of the writers room chuckling to himself over how he just wrote Morgan killing Morgan… Bat versus stick; double down irony.
I like it. Morgan&his all life is precious has to go.Wolves want to kill everyone. But this casting is absolutely perfect. Brute w a sense of humor
NOOOOOOOO!!!!! Not Big Daddy Winchester!!!!! He’s a hero, not a villain!!!!!!
I don’t think I’ll be able to watch. He’s a talented actor though, so I know he’ll kill it.
I wouldn’t call John Winchester a hero, personally..
Right?!? John Winchester was kind of a dick . . .
Hey he did save his son..
He was a harsh and abrasive, but he risked his life to save the lives of others on multiple occasions…the former doesn’t negate the latter.
John Winchester is a hero. He had a hell of a lot to deal with. His wife murdered, his kids in danger by the thing that killed their mother. Having to learn what it was and when he did how to fight it and all that after finding a way to accept that world was real and not just old wives tales. I think he did damn good with all he had thrown at him. And on top of that became the sole provider for a infant and a toddler. And yet he still managed to raise his boys to know right from wrong, how to say no and have the backbone to back it up not only in words but in other ways if necessary. He made sure that anything happened to him the boys could take care of themselves. He may not of been the 9-5 dad Sam wanted but if he had been Sam would ended up leading Lucifer’s army and John and Dean would dead.
What you call a hero I call a neglectful father. He put his sons in a life Mary never wanted for them, he moved them school to school- went missing for days at a time, sometimes months. Pushed his sons away in attempt to seem like a hero but in reality he was just selfish. Even though he “saved” dean it doesn’t mean anything because if he had done the right thing from the start this wouldn’t have even happened. He was a crap parent, but a great hunter.
So much fighting! What we all need to unite and realize, here, is that Supernatural is an awful show.
Supernatural wasn’t an awful show to begin with. They should have finished in Season 5. It has seriously went downhill from then on. What with them making angels out to be so manipulative.. their storyline on Lucifer, and the Mark of Cain is really stretching the Bible. I look at it with fiance, but don’t enjoy it like I did when Sam and Dean just hunted demons and well, supernatural things. Like Jensen and Jared though. As for John, he was not even suppose to be alive on the show. Remember Mary’s deal with yellow eyes? I think it’s a good casting choice for Neagan, though.
Well, John Winchester probably saved hundreds of people during his career as a hunter. I’d say that makes him a hero.
Neither would I. I never cared for him. He was so distant (both physically and emotionally for a majority of the boys’ growing-up time that I didn’t care when he passed. It was the least he could do to save Dean.
Really he gave up his soul for his sons. That’s a hero
I’ve seen JDM play many villains before, and he’s really good at it. He can play both good characters and bad characters and nails it every time.
Yes he did, and even if you do not consider him a hero, consider the fact that this man raised two hero’s in between fighting his own demons in a rather unconventional way. But it worked! I think he’s an amazing actor! Love him!
I can’t take him seriously. I guess from being a fan of Supernatural from the beginning and how his character ended, seeing him go to these lengths is not him. Now, the actor that plays Dwight, he nails it perfectly. Unfortunately, his leadership skills have not proven 100% effective.
Oh snap! Great casting choice.
I’m excited for this opportunity for him, but I am sure enjoying him on Good Wife!!
YAAAAASSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!
I like that Jeffrey Dean Morgan is joining The Walking Dead and it could be interesting to see how he is playing a villain.Plus i’m wondering if we won’t see his character until the final episode of the season and his first appearance could be the cliffhanger.
He played a villain in “The Salvation” and was very good. Guess I’m going to have to add “The Walking Dead” to my must watch list!
He did an excellent job on that film, so excited.
He may come in swiftly, like the swing of a baseball bat.
This is an outstanding casting choice! He’s going to be fantastic in this role! While he’ll always be Denny (and Papa Winchester) to me, he’s got a great physical presence that I think will be perfect for this role! Well done AMC and TWD producers!
Not bad.
OHMIGAWD! I don’t think they could pick anyone better to play this role because I literally picture Jeffrey Dean Morgan when I’m reading Negan.
I think Bruce Campbell would have been the perfect choice, but Morgan is a pretty good choice as well!
Ash cannot be the bad guy. Everyone would root for Bruce Campbell so he couldn’t be Megan lol
Nope ash can never be the villain :p he rules.
Yes! Now THAT would have been the perfect snarky Negan.
I gotta say, even though Bruce Campbell face wise looks like Negan, body size, and personality wouldn’t match up. Jeffrey Dean Morgan is Negan to the “T”, watch when he shaves, it’s going to be over.
I don’t see how this wonderful man is going to make it possible for me to hate Negan but he’s welcome to try. Seriously, Denny Duquette/John Winchester murdering people with a razor-write baseball bat? I’m already gonna cry, but bring it on.
If the portrayer of Denny Duquette can make us hate him, then it’s a tribute to his acting skills. But I’m totally loving this casting!
Agreed, as Negan is the worst human being in Walking Dead history, this will be a major, major role for him. Not that we’ve ever needed to verify or justify his acting skills, already know he’s amazing which is one of the reasons I love him. I’m as excited about this as I am worried about hating Negan for what I believe he’s going to do, even though it’ll be in the body of Jeffrey Dean Morgan.
Arguably, Negan is a charming villain. You might just [sadly] like him in spite of what he’s capable of. But I do say “might,” because maybe I’m just that messed up! :)
Check out Watchmen. Denny was a dreamboat, John Winchester was a hero/kinda alright dad, but The Comedian was a rough tough douchebag. JDM is such a versatile actor and will totally kill it as Negan.
He was fantastic on the Watchmen! He also starred in a now cancelled show called Magic City. He is an amazing actor, and extremely easy on the eyes!
I remember watching “The Condemned” and Vinnie Jones made me despise his character. Vinnie Jones looks and acts like a real life Negan and I thought he would have been the best for the role.
I’ll definitely hate seeing him as a bad guy! But this should be fun to watch, too. :)
OMFG!!!!! Papa Winchester!!! Excellent choice.
I had to clap my hand over myself to keep myself from squeeling with delight right in my office! LOL! Love this!
Full disclosure: I haven’t read the comics, I only watch the show. But I obviously read enough about TWD universe to think that this is a perfect casting choice.
I’m excited and terrified for my faves at the same time.
The Good Wife can’t keep introducing random love interests for Alicia. Johnny, Finn, and now Jason are all just going to disappear. They have to lock someone down.
There’s always Peter. Maybe they should go on a trip to Paris…
Eli has been consistently in her life for good or bad
I agree. Alicia’s had great chemistry with all of them, and they all end up leaving. Granted, two out of the three have been because the actors wanted to move on to something else, but I wish they’d find an actor who wants to stick around for more than one season.
Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeees
Not sure how I feel about this. I love him as an actor so good. But he is John Winchester, maybe not the best person, but still Sam and Dean’s dad as a villain, so bad. It will be great seeing him on a show I watch again, so good. But this gives him another reason why he can’t come back on SPN, so bad. I have a headache.
I’m guessing none of you have seen Watchmen. Then you could really instead why he’s a fantastic choice.
That’s exactly what I was thinking. He’said going to be fantastic.
Watchmen, Salvation. You want to talk creepy the Resident where he costarred with Christopher Lee and Hilary Swank. He owns abuilding Swank moves into and he goes all fatal attraction on her. *SHIVER* I admit though I’ll always see him as John Winchester.
I saw it i just like to pretend i didn’t it was so bad.
If he’s not gone yet, it was good knowing you Glenn. Good casting choice for Negan. Sounds awesome.
None of the main characters on the show have died the same way they died in the comics, so I really hope that won’t happen to Glenn. It would be nice if he could live to see his baby’s birth.
The Governor and Shane both died in similar ways as their comics counterpart. But, overall, you are right, MOST of them have not died the same way as the comics.
Loved me some Shane and The Governor..hot..hot!
Ooh, great casting! I hate to admit it, but this is one of those instances where a fictional character whose responsible for some really terrible things is still someone whose arc I find integral and intriguing. Like, I seriously feel a tad guilty for wanting Negan storylines in the comic and onscreen, whereas separating real world morality/personal viewpoints and fiction normally presents little/no issue in what I read, view, and listen to for leisure activities.
Jeffrey Dean Morgan has got the right balance of Negan’s ruggedness, street smarts, charm, wit, and that twinkle/look in his eye that says “I can flip the switch (or Lucille) at any point.” If anyone thinks that last part doesn’t apply, check out The Good Wife – they’re playing around with a similar idea for the character he portrays there.
Noooooooooooo. I want his character to stay on “The Good Wife.”
Great Casting imo. Really excited about this
The only reason I’m sticking with the Good Wife was for Jeffrey Dean Morgan. After they killed Will off I was about done with the show. I’m getting sick of the story line. Can’t stand Peter, never could. If JDM goes, so do I.
JDM is EVERYWHERE these days and I for one am loving it.
I literally “woah”ed out loud at work when I read this. Will be seriously interesting to see an actor I love play a character like that.