If you’re a fan of The Walking Dead, you’re probably aware of the looming end to the AMC series that has spawned a franchise of spinoffs. Although part of the 11th and final Season of The Walking Dead has premiered, the last of the episodes are still being filmed by the remaining members of the cast. Ahead of finally wrapping on filming the long-running series, star Jeffrey Dean Morgan reveals The Walking Dead moment he would have changed for his legendary character Negan.
In an exclusive interview with Insider, Jeffrey Dean Morgan talked about Negan and what he wished went down differently back around the time he first entered The Walking Dead. His answer matches up what a lot of fans think, as he said he wishes his character hadn't killed Glenn. Here's what Morgan had to say exactly:
I wouldn't have killed Glenn. Yeah. That was probably a bad decision.
Glenn’s death was brutal, and the word "probably" doesn’t even come close to describing how awful Negan’s killer use of his barbed wire bat Lucille really was. Not only was it a smashing (I’m so sorry) way to kill off a character, but Glenn was beloved by fans. In fact, his death brought about a mass exodus from the series. He was one of the core survivors of the group and had been with fans since the second episode of the AMC series, as well as the second issue for the original Walking Dead comic book series.
Jeffrey Dean Morgan’s thought that killing Glenn off was a bad decision probably rings pretty true, even though his death ended up following the comics the series is based on pretty well. Fans of the comics knew what was coming, but it doesn’t make Glenn’s death sit any more comfortable with people. The death was so impactful that viewers are still seeing some major ramifications of it in the show four seasons later through the confrontation between Negan and Maggie.
Of course, there are some majorly heartwarming moments on The Walking Dead, but Glenn’s death was far from one. While Jeffrey Dean Morgan may have known this going into the show, it doesn’t sound like there would have been much he could do to stop the brutal killing of the beloved character. In the same interview, Morgan talked about what actors have to do in terms of what they are given with scripts, even if they don’t always agree. In his words:
I think that we have to kind of go with what we are given and [what] we all have — not that I haven't fought with writers over what the hell I have to do, but, you know — in the end, it is what it is.
Though Glenn’s death was a key moment in the show (albeit an unpopular one for many), there’s likely really nothing many people could have done to prevent that moment from playing out. Jeffrey Dean Morgan was also a newcomer to the show at that point, with his killing of Glenn only happening on his second episode in the series. That isn’t really a great time to be making huge script changes - even if you are Jeffrey Dean Morgan.
The Walking Dead Season 11 may be the final one for the series, but we still have quite a bit of the season to go. Due to the pandemic mucking things up, Season 11 was split into 3 parts. The first is already available to stream on AMC+ and the second part is set to premiere later this month on February 20th. With filming almost complete on the last set of episodes, we can possibly look for part 3 of Season 11 to follow sometime later during this year’s TV schedule.
The Walking Dead fans don’t need to worry too much, though, as the series lives on in its many spinoffs. Fan favorites Daryl and Carol are set to get their own spinoff series, and we may get to see more of Jeffrey Dean Morgan’s Negan, as he too has been in talks to star in his own series. The Walking Dead may be taking its leave just as Glenn did back in Season 7, but some of our other favorite characters still have a future on our screens.
