There’s a tremendous amount of deliberation and reflection going on in The Walking Dead community as AMC’s zombie flagship nears its historic 100th episode.
Just yesterday, for instance, the network released a heartfelt, emotional highlight reel designed to pick the very best moments from the past 99 episodes. As a retrospective, it proved to be a timely reminder of just how far Rick and the gang have come, not to mention the horrors they’ve faced along the way. Fighting off the dead is one thing, but ever since The Walking Dead first premiered seven whole years ago, AMC’s series has developed a knack for scenery-chewing human villains, each more psychotic than the last.
And so, after confronting Shane and the Governor and everyone in between, The Walking Dead has placed Rick and his ragtag group on a collision course with Jeffrey Dean Morgan’s Negan, and all signs point to season 8 delivering on all fronts. One key cast member who will be returning to the fray on October 22nd is Michonne, the comic book favorite played by soon-to-be Black Panther star Danai Gurira.
However, as The Walking Dead casting director Sharon Bialy told ComicBook.com, the Powers That Be originally had their eye on Sonequa Martin-Green (Star Trek: Discovery) for the coveted role of Michonne. History tells us that AMC ultimately chose Gurira for the part, but Bialy recalls that the show’s creators were so impressed with Martin-Green’s audition that they carved out a role specifically for her, not unlike Norman Reedus and his own fan-favorite, Daryl Dixon.
“The producers fell in love with her so much they wrote her character for her.”
With the people of Alexandria, the Kingdom and Hilltop now fighting out of the same corner, Negan’s reign is growing weaker by the day. Whether Jeffrey Dean Morgan’s maniac lives to see another season will be told in time, and fans can at least look forward to some answers being revealed when The Walking Dead returns on October 22nd.
