Jeffrey Dean Morgan Didn’t See The Cliffhanger Coming Either
Surprised by the controversial non-reveal of last Sunday’s Walking Dead season finale? So was the guy who plays Negan. Jeffrey Dean Morgan told EW after the airing that he didn’t know what his scene would really look like until he saw it.
“I didn’t know it was going to be a cliffhanger until I watched the show. That’s just how it was done in my world. I don’t know if any of the cast knew exactly how it was going to end, which kind of caused a lot of the uncertainty and emotion that was going on. That said, in talking to Scott and Robert [after the finale], I think that their explanation was that it was the end of the story for that season, and that Rick has lost control and there’s Negan, and Negan has all the control.
“And I think that’s where they wanted to end the story, and it’s not about the death of that person, and then the death of the person is going to kick off season 7, and season 7 will be a big part of, obviously, who is on the receiving end of Lucille? I understand the fans’ frustration, I get that; that being said … I have to trust these writers and showrunners. They know what they’re doing; a lot of people watch for 6 seasons, and I believe that they’ll be back to see who met Lucille and as the story continues to grow.”
Morgan may be implying he was just pointing at a camera, and he assumed reaction shots from the person’s face would be spliced in later. It didn’t turn out that way.
Negan’s backstory has yet to be revealed, and Kirkman is actually working on this at the moment for a future comic. Morgan didn’t know if that backstory would be completed in time for a Season 7 episode. But he did reveal what he thinks Negan might have been like in the past, and how he slips into character….
“I think the backstory of Negan is that he used to be a used car salesman. That’s what I know and there’s not a whole lot beyond that.”
These bits came from a full interview at EW.com.