The Walking Dead: Dead City will return to AMC and AMC+ in Spring 2025. The Maggie and Negan series' second season will begin approximately six months after events from the first. The teaser trailer reveals Negan is back to his old ways.
Jeffrey Dean Morgan has portrayed Negan Smith since he was introduced in the season 6 finale of The Walking Dead. Fans of the comic couldn't wait to see the character brought to life on screen as he has always been a fan favorite villain. It is hard to image anyone else as Negan because Morgan does it so well. Other actors considered for the role include Timothy Olyphant, Garret Dillahunt, and Henry Rollins, who the comic character was based on.
Negan is loved and hated within the fandom. Many love his charismatic personality and others hate him for killing Glenn Rhee (Steven Yeun). Negan ruled the Saviors with an iron fist and his underlings obeyed his every whim. The Saviors were a brutal group known for taking half of the supplies of other communities with the promise to protect them against walkers and other groups. Negan had no issues ordering the murders of those who didn't comply.
While Negan's reign as leader of the Saviors showed him to be the worst of villains, later in the series he experienced a redemption arch.
Negan experienced a lot of soul searching while jailed at Alexandria and partnered with Carol (Melissa McBride) in infiltrating and taking down the Whisperers. This was the beginning of his redemption that would later see him as part of the communities.
Negan - Dead City season 2
By the conclusion of The Walking Dead, Negan, now married to Annie (Medina Senghore), would remove himself from the communities to make a life for himself, his wife, and their unborn child. Tensions between Maggie and Negan would always be a problem, and he felt it was best to leave.
In season 1 of The Walking Dead: Dead City Maggie (Lauren Cohan) would enlist Negan's help in rescuing her son Hershel (Logan Kim) who was abducted by The Croat (Željko Ivanek) a former member of Negan's Saviors. She betrayed Negan by agreeing to The Croat's terms, her son for Negan.
The second season of Dead City will premiere in 2025 and the teaser shows Negan returning to his villainy. At the end of the first season he was introduced to the Dama (Lisa Emery), leader of a powerful group in Manhattan. She had heard tales of the former leader of the Savior and wanted him to join her plan to take over the criminal elements of the island.
The teasers showcased Negan, complete with a leather jacket and a new Lucille. He appears to be in charge of a group and looks to enjoy being back in this role. Morgan has stated he "freaked out" at the prospect of Lucille's return.
While some may think it a bad move to see Negan return to his way of life, he has a good reason for following the Dama's orders. While she laid out her plan she reminded informed him that she removed Hershel's toe and could always take more from the boy. A subtle threat that she would no doubt follow through with. Negan holds a soft spot for Hershel, as he is the on responsible for the boy's father's death.
It will be very interesting to see if Negan takes on this new role to keep Hershel safe or if he just missed the days he was leader of the Saviors.
The Walking Dead: Dead City season 2 will premiere on AMC and AMC+ in Spring 2025.
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