AMC’s zombie serial is firming up its human component. Now that season six of The Walking Dead is behind us, and season seven is currently shooting, the network is locking down its main cast roster, as it’s been announced today that four of the show’s recurring stars will return as series regulars. One of those? Negan.
We knew that Jeffrey Dean Morgan would return, but now this confirms that he’ll be taking a bigger chunk of screentime. He’s set to reprise his role of the baseball bat-wielding maniac, whose actions in the season six finale shattered the dynamic of Rick’s survivors forever. It’s not certain how exactly he achieved that though, as the network opted for a cliffhanger ending. Fans were left dangling – and will remain dangling until October – when the show cut out before revealing who Negan butchered to death with his bat.
Morgan is joined in the regular ranks by Xander Berkeley, who plays Hilltop leader Gregory. It’s expected that he’ll be having stern words with Maggie in the upcoming season. That is, if the show follows the comics, where she becomes the community’s new leader. Elsewhere, Austin Amelio who plays Dwight and Tom Payne who plays Jesus will also be getting bumped up to regular slots.
These new additions fill out the main cast to 20 now, according to THR, which means the show is becoming a larger-scale character ensemble than before. That should come as no surprise to comic fans, and if the series continues to take its cues from the page, things on The Walking Dead are about to get really interesting.
