Despite being one of the most polarizing characters in the series, Jeffrey Dean Morgan has always valued his character, Negan, in The Walking Dead. However, there remains a notable aspect surrounding his character in the series finale that he found displeasing. Season 11 introduces Annie as Negan’s new wife, who is revealed to be pregnant.
Morgan, however, was not content with this direction, as he later explained in a conversation on Kelly Ripa’s Let’s Talk Off Camera podcast while expressing his disappointment with this particular storyline development.
Jeffrey Dean Morgan Had Issues With One Negan Detail in The Walking Dead
In an appearance on Kelly Ripa’s Let’s Talk Off Camera podcast, The Walking Dead star revealed an issue he had with Negan’s storyline in the series finale, where it is revealed that Negan has married Annie, played by Medina Senghore, and that they are expecting a child.
Jeffrey Dean Morgan, however, shared that he was not sure about such a development surrounding his character, especially as it was not properly explored or developed. “I don’t know that he would’ve gotten married again,” he said before further explaining,
“And they had Negan get married at the end of The Walking Dead — But we never saw the story of how he met this person and why he would’ve married her, which always bummed me out. because I think he was so in love with his wife, Lucille, and it had made such a production out of the whole Lucille of it all”
The final episode of Season 10 reveals Negan’s backstory and his past marriage to Lucille, who was diagnosed with cancer and died by suicide only to return as a zombie. It led Negan to burn down his home and name his bat after his late wife.
However, soon after revealing his past, the series abruptly introduces Annie as his new wife, a major departure from comics as Negan never remarries in the comics. However, the actor remained hopeful that the spin-off series, Dead City, could potentially shed light on the abrupt turn in Negan’s narrative.
The Walking Dead: Dead City Does Not Address Jeffrey Dean Morgan’s Concerns
While Jeffrey Dean Morgan acknowledged that the abrupt shift in his character’s story could be due to the constraints of working with a large ensemble, he remained hopeful that the spin-off of The Walking Dead, Dead City might provide an answer for this sudden turn in Negan’s narrative.
“Having him show up with a wife without telling the story of why and how was always, like, a problem — an issue I had,” he said during the interview. The 58-year-old actor further stated,
“But, you know, that’s what happens when you’re doing a show with 30 main characters. You’re not able to service each character as well as you may want to. And I think now with Dead City, we’ll get some answers.”
The spin-off series, however, fails to address the backstory of Negan and Annie, leaving fans with even more questions than answers. The series reveals that Negan had sent his wife Annie and their son to Missouri after killing five men who assaulted Annie.
While he promised that he would follow them, he never did so, as the show follows him traveling with a mute teenager, Ginny. And his actions towards his wife and son add further complexity to the character.
The Walking Dead and Dead City are available to stream on Prime Video.
