When The Walking Dead returns in early 2021, it will deliver a batch of six new episodes produced specifically to give fans something to enjoy while waiting for the eleventh and final season to arrive later in the year. As they’re being made in the midst of the pandemic – with filming going on right now – they’re set to be smaller in scale, but big on character material. And this might mean we finally get something we’ve been itching to see: Negan’s origins story.
EP Angela Kang recently teased what’s to come in these bonus season 10 episodes while taking part in a TWD virtual writers summit hosted by Entertainment Weekly. The showrunner explained that she’s excited for fans to get to see the new outings as they feature a storyline that they’ve been waiting for “for a long time.”
“We’ve chosen to go in the other version of the Walking Dead tradition, which is dive really deeply into these really cool character stories. I think that that is also The Walking Dead, and so hopefully people will enjoy stuff like that,” Kang said. “We’ve got, definitely, a story I think a lot of comic book fans have been waiting for for a long time. And I love the script, and so we’ll get to tease things in a different way.”
If you’re thinking that Kang’s words don’t necessarily point to Negan’s backstory being told, then it’s worth noting that she’s previously promised that the bonus episodes will fill in some blanks and show us “where people have been in the past.” Combine that with her tease that they’ll explore something we’ve been waiting ages for, and Negan’s origins seem like the only option.
Of course, Robert Kirkman explained the villain’s origins in the Here’s Negan comic book spinoff series, and it’s something that both fans and Jeffrey Dean Morgan have frequently said they’d like to see brought to the screen. Negan has opened up about his past now and again on the TV show, true, but we’ve never got any full-on flashbacks explaining what happened to him before he was the leader of the Saviors. With The Walking Dead about to take a break from full-on zombie action, though, and with the character’s recent redemption, this could be the perfect time to delve into his personal history.