‘The Walking Dead’ season 8 is set to feature the return of major villain Negan as hinted by actor Jeffrey Dean Morgan. Showrunner Scott Gimple also revealed plans to explore Negan’s backstory further in the future.
During an interview with Howard Stern on the Stern Show last November 29, Morgan revealed that his villain Negan is set to return for season 8 of ‘The Walking Dead.’ He said, “I know I will be on board for season eight… We’ve finished [season seven] a week ago. The next two, I’m really big in. I’m f*cking heavy in those.”
Negan was first introduced in the season 6 finale, entitled “Last Day on Earth,” and continued torment the main protagonists all throughout season 7. The finale was notably one of the most controversial episodes of the series.
Morgan defended his character’s vile actions on the show saying, "If you put yourself in this apocalyptic Zombie-fied world, I think anybody that's survived this long has probably done some bad things… [Rick and his men] killed 30 of my men while they slept. So far, I've tapped a couple of guys in the head with a baseball bat and all of a sudden it's the end of the world!"
The 50-year old actor earned critical acclaim for his portrayal of Negan, receiving a Critics’ Choice Television Award nomination for Best Guest Performer in a Drama Series.
During an interview with Yahoo! TV, showrunner Scott Gimple revealed that he plans to explore Negan’s backstory in the series. Gimple said, “I do believe yes, it’s in the future. You know, I’m always careful about this, [because] things can absolutely change… There’s a loose plan in place I have.”
Despite Morgan’s addition to the cast, the series itself continued to suffer drops in ratings. According to Comicbook.com, only 10.4 million viewers tuned in for the most recent Tara-centric episode, entitled “Swear,” making it the lowest-rated episode since season 3. This was considered a notable drop from episode 5, which had 11.00 million viewers.
‘The Walking Dead’ season 8 has been renewed to air sometime in late 2017. Season 7’s episode 7, entitled "Sing Me a Song," is scheduled to air on AMC on December 4, 2016.
