There were many beloved characters on The Walking Dead throughout its 11-season run but perhaps none were as adored as Glenn Rhee. Steven Yeun's lovable, loyal Glenn debuted in the second episode of the AMC series, quickly proving himself to be an ally to Rick Grimes during a time when few others would. He went on to become part of the TWD fabric for years, earning himself a spot as one of the very best in the entire franchise - a sentiment which is still felt even now, years after the original series ended.
Yeun would ultimately depart the TWD Universe in the season 7 premiere of The Walking Dead, when Glenn was brutally bludgeoned to death by Negan in one of the most harrowing, violent moments in the show's history. It came as a surprise to fans - even those who initially expected it to happen - because Glenn had avoided a real near-death experience a season earlier. Here's why it went down that way.
Glenn's death in The Walking Dead was foretold by the comics
Glenn's death in The Walking Dead's season 7 premiere is widely considered one of the most shocking moments in TV history. But while that shock value is owed to the brutality of it, it was actually somewhat predictable to fans who had read the Walking Dead comics by Robert Kirkman. See, Glenn is killed by Negan in the comics in the exact same fashion that he was in the show. In fact, the infamous image in which he tells Maggie he will find her as blood pours down his face is a direct panel from the comic books' 100th issue.
Yeun revealed that he was really excited for that death and even advocated replicating the character's comic book death - something that AMC's The Walking Dead rarely ever did (in order to ensure that fans weren't always able to predict the narrative). Appearing at Walker Stalker Con Nashville in 2017, he defended the violent death, saying:
“I advocated for that, too, because it could’ve been just me rationalizing it, what was inevitable, but at the same time, you look at that journey and you realize that is marked in such a dramatic way in the comic that to change it, I think is a cheat.”
The death scene did mark the end of Glenn's journey in controversial fashion. It had the reaction it was supposed to but it kind of took on a life of its own too, with fans actually tuning out of the show in disgust - both because of the loss of kind, sweet, gentle Glenn and just how graphic the moment was. And the other reason it was considered so shocking was the fact that Negan actually killed Abraham prior to that, allowing Glenn fans to lower their fears that he might have been the planned death in the season 7 premiere. Throwing in a second one - and making it Glenn of all people - caught just about everyone off-guard.
With all of that in mind, it was very much the plan for Glenn to die at this point in the storyline, but Yeun also had something of a hand in it - both in it happening and, for lack of a better term, allowing it to happen.
Steven Yeun didn't fight the decision as he was ready to move on
Although Glenn's death was indeed a creative choice, Steven Yeun didn't fight the decision as he felt that the character had run his natural course. In Variety's Actor on Actors series back in 2021, Riz Ahmed asked the TWD star about the character and his departure. Yeun revealed that he was such a fan of the Glenn character, especially because he maintained his humanity throughout the apolcaypse, becoming a moral compass for many other characters on the show. However, he added that he felt he had taken the character as far as he could.
The actor admitted that he was proud of Glenn being a "plucky, nice guy — nice to everybody", adding that it was an extension of him. But he also said that he was more that just that, so there came a point in time when there was something of a ceiling for the character. And when the decision to kill Glenn off was revealed to him, he was okay with it.
"There wasn’t really much of a fight on my end. But it wasn’t easy, and “it was still sad,” he said — especially because “it was such a beautiful time on that show."
Explaining further, he revealed that he didn't want to be pinned down by Glenn's inherent goodness for the majority of his career, adding that he wanted to explore the complexities of his own personality through other roles.
"I couldn’t be stuck servicing just a genial natured guy for the rest of my career. On the inside, I didn’t feel that way. On the inside, I can be angry, I can be vengeful. I can be all the other things, and I wanted to explore those things for myself."
Yeun's words are entirely understandable. While goodness is a wonderful trait to have in real life, the beauty of an actor is that they get to explore other sides of one's personality. They get to try different things, experiment with different emotions, and so forth. While Glenn certainly offered a range of that in the early days of the show - while remaining inherently good at his core - he found very stable footing around 2-3 seasons in and never really shifted from there as a character.
You can watch his interview here:
Yeun's career has gone from strength-to-strength over the past few years. He received critical acclaim for his performances in 2018's Burning and 2020's Minari - the latter of which earned him an Academy Award nomination. He then went on to star in Netflix's Beef, winning both an Emmy Award and a Golden Globe for his portrayal of Danny Cho in the series.
His partnership with TWD's Robert Kirkman has continued on since his departure from the show, too. Yeun voices the main character in Kirkman's Prime Video superhero series Invincible, having done so for four seasons (and a fifth is on the way). He was also initially cast as Sentry in Marvel Studios' Thunderbolts* before having to pull out due to scheduling conflicts (the role was ultimately played by Lewis Pullman), but he has shown interest in playing another role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe should the opportunity present itself in the future.
So, while Walking Dead fans will continue to miss Glenn Rhee on our TV screens, we love seeing Steven Yeun continue to pop up on them. Something tells us that The Walking Dead was simply the beginning of his journey!
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