Since Negan's arrival in season 6, Jeffrey Dean Morgan has been a staple of The Walking Dead franchise. The actor joined the main cast of the series in season 7 and remained so through the show's eleventh and final season. Morgan now stars as Negan in the spinoff series Dead City, where we can still watch his adventures alongside his trusty barb-wired baseball bat.
Negan's personal connection with his legendary bat, which is named Lucille after his late wife, has been a huge part of the story. It's also made quite the impact on Morgan. Earlier this year while promoting Dead City season 2, Morgan revealed that he commemorated his iconic prop by getting a tattoo on his arm that says Lucille. That's such a special honor to a TWD legend.
While Lucille was also Negan's wife and played by Morgan's real-life wife Hilarie Burton Morgan, the actor revealed the tattoo specifically commemorates the bat. "I never had a prop in my life as an actor that felt so innately mine and feels like an extension of the character. And me personally, I adore her," he explained. "To have Lucille back, that's when Negan is at his most Negan."
Jeffrey Dean Morgan honored Lucille with a special tattoo
The Walking Dead fans first caught a glimpse of Negan and Lucille (his wife, not the bat) together in the season 10 episode "Here's Negan," which aired in 2021. Burton Morgan again made a guest appearance as Lucille in Deady City season 2 episode 7, "Novi Dan, Novi Početak." The real-life couple has shared the screen before, but these times were extra special.
That's what gives Morgan's Lucille tattoo a double meaning. He got the ink as a tribute to his character and the relationship he shares with his bat (even though we might have some conflicting feelings about his bat based on who's been on the other side of it), but Lucille wasn't simply a bat. She was a very important person to Negan and she's played by a very important person to Morgan.
While the couple have been in some of the most popular shows of the past 20 years, working together on The Walking Dead still have them some nerves. Morgan admitted to being nervous to share scenes with his wife back in season 10, admitting to People, "I'm not going to lie, I was nervous as hell going in. I didn't know how she would be."
Because it was such a big moment for Negan and the fans, Morgan worried about getting their chemistry just right and staying focused on the work. However, he was relieved when their scenes went off without a hitch. There could still be more chances for Morgan and Burton Morgan to share scenes in the future, but we know for sure that will we be seeing Negan wield his beloved bat until the bitter end.
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