AMC's "The Walking Dead" ended its sixth season run on a controversial note, with the long awaited arrival of Jeffrey Dean Morgan's Negan cut short with a frustrating cliffhanger. With that choice, fans were deprived of getting any resolution about who was on the receiving end of Negan's barbed wire-wrapped baseball bat, Lucille. However, at least fans can take solace in the few bits of information about Season 7 that are coming to light.
It turns out that "The Walking Dead" will be adding a major character from Robert Kirkman's original comic series. This character's arrival promises to change the status quo and inject some new life into the series. Next season, viewers can expect to meet the regal Ezekiel.
"The Walking Dead" is searching for an African-American actor in his 40s for this fan-favorite role from the comics. In the casting call, the character's name is listed as Augustus, but his description matches Ezekiel's from the comics.
The show is looking for someone to bring a combination of "wisdom, oddity and exuberance," which sums up Ezekiel. In the comics, Ezekiel is the leader of The Kingdom settlement, which may or may not be home to the two armor-clad men who helped Carol and Morgan during the Season 6 finale. In the source material, Ezekiel proclaims himself king of the post-apocalyptic wasteland. However, Ezekiel is nothing like the violent and deranged Negan. Outside of his pet tiger, Ezekiel is pretty much a normal man.
As Tom Payne's Jesus said this past season, "your world is about to get a whole lot bigger." The Kingdom would be yet another colony to add to the growing map of settlements in "The Walking Dead." While this normally would pose more problems than solutions for Rick and company, the Kingdom isn't a tyrannical group of thugs looking to murder their way into more power. In fact, they could emerge as a potential ally to the Alexandria Safe Zone.
Sadly, it will be a while before we get to Augustus/Ezekiel on the small screen as "The Walking Dead" won't return to AMC for a seventh season until October.
Follow Brandon Katz at @Great_Katzby.
