The Walking Dead Cast Talk About It’s Return…
The wait is nearly over. The Walking Dead returns to UK tv screens with it’s 7th Season, Monday 24th October on Fox UK, and we finally get to see who met their fate at the hands of Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), and his barbed wired baseball bat ‘Lucille’…
In preparation for the big reveal, the cast and producers of the show have been answering some questions about the upcoming series, and the precarious situation the group were left in, pictured above. Negan, a character only mentioned on screen a few times before his big reveal in the finale, had Rick’s Alexandrian group at his mercy… and Negan doesn’t do mercy…
“We are seven years in and we are only unleashing now probably the greatest villain of the series,” comments Andrew Lincoln (Rick). “It’s a very thrilling and exciting time. It does feel like we are smashing everything and starting over.” Comparing Negan to the show’s other major villain, he continues, “The Governor was much more about secrets. You didn’t know what the Governor was doing. Negan is very clear. He is very open with the people he meets. There is a charm, but there is a terrifying logic as well.”
The introduction of this new threat has changed everything for the Alexandrians. “They realize they are not driving the car,” says Norman Reedus, who plays Daryl. “There is somebody else who has a lot more territory than they do who is calling the shots. It’s super interesting and great that there is a character that is going to put fear into them. One of my favourite parts of the Season 6 finale is watching Rick be not in control. Rick has lead these people for so long and he might have just lead them all into the water to drown.” Commenting on the future of the group, he continues, “It looks really bad. It looks like they are about to have a complete change of lifestyle. We know Negan has people, but we don’t know the expanse of his tyranny.”
Season 6 saw the group trying to take the fight to the Saviors, but clearly things didn’t go as planned! “There is a cockiness to the group, not arrogance. We think we can overcome all odds,” says Steven Yeun who plays Glenn, one of the characters who is regularly voted most likely to be ‘Lucilled’, due to him being killed in the comic books. He continues “Glenn says we were wrong about the world, it is much much bigger. And now we have to figure it out all over again. The threats that we have experienced are not even close to the threats that are really truly out there. It is definitely a humbling moment, but I still wouldn’t count out our cockiness.”
Lauren Cohan, who plays Glenn’s wife Maggie adds “Little did we know Negan is this complete sadist that takes so much pleasure out of inflicting such great pain on people. To me, Negan feels like this horrible undercurrent that’s been there the whole time that we haven’t realised, and now it’s rearing its head from every doorway you can imagine. It’s like how bulls have little flocks of birds that live on their backs. We’ve been there not knowing we were all sleeping on this giant scary bull. We are upended.”
Thankfully, Jeffrey Dean Morgan is not nearly as monstrous as Negan to work with. “He is so funny,” say’s Chandler Riggs, who plays the young Carl. He continues with the somewhat ironic point that “…he brings a whole light to the set. All of the cast and the crew love him so much, which, for me, sucks because I have to hate his guts, but he’s such a nice guy.”
Of course, Negan isn’t the only new character for season 7. As you will have seen in the trailers, Carol and Morgan are set to enter The Kingdom, with it’s monarch Ezekiel, and his pet tiger! When asked “why does Ezekiel call himself King?”, Lennie James (Morgan) has the answer “If you’ve got a pet tiger, you can be whatever you like,” which is a fair point! He continues “In this world, all the leaders we’ve come across, to a greater or lesser extent, are playing a role. Every time Negan comes out to play with Lucille, he’s putting on a show. The guy we’ve been following is a town sheriff who wears a holster, with a gun at his side, and a cowboy hat. Even Deanna was playing the senator in a world where there is no senate.” Melissa Mcbride (Carol) adds “What this character has in the Kingdom is something very different from Terminus and from Woodbury, and something that Alexandria maybe could become. This colorful leader, from the goodness in his heart, genuinely wants a better world for the people in the Kingdom. What motivates him, how he follows through, how he takes care of the people – I don’t think the fans will be disappointed in Ezekiel or his sidekick.”
The Walking Dead Season 7 arrives on UK tv screens, Monday 24th October on Fox UK.
