The promotional trailer for "The Walking Dead" season 6 will focus a lot on the conflict within Alexandria and, eventually, with the Wolves, but in a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, showrunner Scott Gimple indicated that fan-favorite villain Negan may pop up before the season is over.
"It's absolutely a possibility," Gimple answered when asked if Negan will finally appear on the show. "And when I say it's a possibility, we have a plan in place, but there's a couple variables for that plan that we're deciding about. It really depends on a few factors as we move into setting up the last bit of the season story-wise."
This means Negan's inclusion isn't cemented yet but there are plans to try and squeeze him in by the tail-end of season 6 or at least by season 7. Of course, introducing Negan requires a few new characters to set up the story, which might be the "variables" Gimple was referring to. One of those required characters is Paul Monroe aka Jesus.
The only way to bring Negan into the show is to introduce Jesus first, and this might not happen until the second half of season 6 once Rick and the gang are done dealing with the Wolves, as AMC has not yet announced any official casting for the character.
In the comic book source material, Jesus is an expert in hand-to-hand combat and is responsible for connecting Alexandria with other communities such as the Hilltop Colony. However, opening up trade routes for Rick and his group also brings them to the attention of Negan.
Negan is a violent psychopath who constantly litters his sentences with cuss words. His only love is for violence and his baseball bat wrapped in barbed wire, which he calls Lucille. He is also responsible for the "All Out War" storyline in the comics and for the death of several major characters.
"The Walking Dead" season 6 premieres on Oct. 11 with a special 90-minute episode.
