Warning: The following contains spoilers for "The Walking Dead" comic and possibly AMC's "The Walking Dead."
Fans of "The Walking Dead" comic book have been patiently awaiting the arrival of iconic villain Negan ever since the TV series launched in 2010. More so than Shane, The Governor, or the cannibals of Terminus, Negan represents the absolute worst of the zombie apocalypse and yet is perhaps one of the best villains in recent fictional history. He's charismatic, charming, intelligent and absolutely savage.
So when AMC announced that Jeffrey Dean Morgan had been cast in the notorious role, fans let out a collective cheer; a great actor put in a great role, what more could you want? However, one person who may not have been as excited as the rest of us is Steven Yeun, who plays Glenn.
In the comics, Negan is introduced in issue 100 (he'll make his first TV appearance in the season six finale) where he brutally beats Glenn to death with his barbed wire-covered baseball bat that he refers to as Lucille. It's one of the most disturbing scenes in "The Walking Dead's" history and an awful way to say goodbye to a fan-favorite character.
Yeun knows of his character's fate in the comics which is why it would be understandable if he was reluctant to welcome Negan to the small screen. But in typical Glenn fashion, that just isn't his style. He's ever the nice guy.
"For me, his arrival is awesome," Yeun said. "We've been waiting for this person for a long time, and in the comic books, he in a way brings a level of stakes that are kind of unmatched. And so, for me, for Negan to come into the show is, to say nothing less, f---ing awesome."
How could Yeun be so optimistic about his character's looming death? Well, showrunner Scott M. Gimple has taken a creative license with the source material at several turns, which means Glenn may not be marked for death after all.
"I know people are going to always go, 'Negan kills Glenn in the comics,' but rest assured that we don't necessarily do what's in the comics," Yeun said. "There's a clear divide in the way we tell a story on television, and the way that story is told in the comics, because it has to be. And everybody will have to see what happens, but we definitely tell our story in the way that television should be told."
In the comics, several characters that have been killed off in the show are still alive. It's possible that Gimple could pull a similar trick with Glenn's character and put someone else at the end of Negan's bat, especially given how his death is widespread knowledge by this point.
"That's the beauty of the adaptation," Yeun continued. "There is something to be said about something being predictable. I'm sure there are iconic moments, but at the same time, we want to keep this show as fresh and alive as possible, and we're going to tell that story that exists for the world we've created. And it is inspired by the world Robert Kirkman has created, but it's also its own entity, to some degree. So, yeah, I mean, we'll see what happens."
"The Walking Dead" airs Sundays on AMC at 9 pm ET.
For more, follow Brandon Katz on Twitter: @Great_Katzby
