The sixth season of "The Walking Dead" started off with a bang as after a few episodes into the season, the show pulled off a risky move by appearing to kill off fan favorite Glenn (Stephen Yeun), only to reveal a few weeks later that he is alive and well after crawling to a dumpster to escape the zombie attack.
While fans rejoiced over Glenn's fate, the midseason finale saw a new threat to Rick's (Andrew Lincoln) group as Daryl (Norman Reedus), Sasha (Sonequa-Martin-Green), and Abraham (Michael Cudlitz) met Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) and his group, who call themselves the Saviors.
Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter, showrunner Scott M. Gimple talked about what fans can expect from Negan's arrival when the show returns and he revealed that the second half of season 6 will be "very different" from the first half of the season.
"The second half is very, very different from the first half in tone and the lineup of characters for every episode," Gimple said. He added that there will be "quite a shift" in the second half of the season early on and that it will focus on certain characters and their internal journey most of the time.
It looks life fans will be in for another shocker as Lincoln previously told Huffington Post that he dropped his script when he learned about what's going to happen in episode 9, which will air next year as the midseason premiere.
"I think nine is the most crazy episode we've had," Lincoln revealed. "I was just like, 'Nooo! We're doing that?'" The actor also said that Gimple and the team have just outdone themselves this season, hinting that the best is still to come for "TWD."
As for how Negan's appearance on the show will differ from the comic books, Gimple said that they have taken some elements from the comic and will be bringing them to life in the second half of the season. Gimple also revealed that one of the upcoming episodes "is one of the weirdest episodes we've ever done" because it's lighter and possibly funnier, something that is outside the show runner's comfort zone.
"The Walking Dead" returns on Feb. 14 on AMC.
