‘The Walking Dead’ star Jeffrey Dean Morgan Is Calling For a Negan Spin-Off

Kim Taylor-Foster
Horror The Walking Dead
Horror The Walking Dead

With Fear the Walking Dead proving a success – it’s now on Season 4 – it’s perhaps no surprise that Walking Dead bosses are talking about expanding the universe further. One of the major characters to make a big impact on the main show has been villain Negan, played by Jeffrey Dean Morgan.

Fans both love to hate and love to love the charismatic bad guy. So the prospect of a spin-off focused on Savior boss Negan is very alluring – and not just to fans. Jeffrey Dean Morgan would love one too.

“I would like to see Negan before the zombie apocalypse,” he told FANDOM while doing publicity for his latest film Rampage. In the movie, Morgan plays a character called Agent Russell, who bears more than a passing resemblance to the Walking Dead bad boy. So much so, in fact, that the actor also discussed the similarities between the two characters, along with the chances that Russell is Negan, and the idea that Rampage could be a prequel to The Walking Dead. You can watch him talking about this here.

More Negan Required

Negan-The-Walking-Dead
Negan was captured by Jadis -- and manipulated her into releasing him by tugging on the heartstrings.

“Now, if he’s this guy, Agent Russell, I’d like to see that,” continued Morgan. “But [Walking Dead creator] Robert Kirkman has done a little bit of thought on the Negan pre-zombie apocalypse, and I would be more than happy to see that. I would like to take part in some filming of that. I think that would help explain this character a great deal. Because, unfortunately, the way things go with so many characters and storylines, we don’t see enough — and I think that that is needed, especially when you have a character like Negan.”

The main show has only revealed glimpses, up to now, of Negan’s backstory. And what we’ve learned has been very much according to Negan himself, who is not necessarily a reliable source. Especially when the moments when he’s let details slip have been during periods where he’s been vulnerable. Notably, when marooned in a hut surrounded by walkers with Father Gabriel, and also when tied up by Jadis. He’s certainly been able to manipulate both by spilling some secrets about his past in each instance. So we surely have to take what we’ve learned so far about Negan with a pinch of salt.

Backstory Reveal

The-Walking-Dead-Negan-Gabriel
Negan recounted elements of his backstory to soften Father Gabriel and bend him to his will.

But while Morgan definitely feels Negan’s story could be better explored in his own spin-off series, he did tease that there could be more Negan history revelations to come in The Walking Dead.

“[We’ve had] a little bit more this season, which is nice, but I’d like to see more. I think it’s important not only for the development of the character but I think the show. So we’ll see,” he said.

When FANDOM interviewed show boss Greg Nicotero recently, he told us that he’d love to work on a frozen zombie spin-off – which Morgan would also love to be a part of.

“Why don’t we just go up to Canada or upstate New York where I live? That’d be great,” he said. “I’m sick of shooting in Georgia in the middle of summer. That’s rough. I like the idea of shooting some frozen zombies. That would be cool as hell. Literally and figuratively.”

Rampage is in cinemas now.

Kim Taylor-Foster
Kim Taylor-Foster is Entertainment Editor for Fandom in the UK. She was raised on an unsteady diet of video nasties and violent action flicks.