The Walking Dead may be ending after its current eleventh season, but the franchise won’t die. In fact, there are plenty of spinoffs waiting in the wings to carry the story forward. There’s a lot of potential directions to go in, and some cast members are throwing their own ideas into the mix. Take Jeffrey Dean Morgan, for example, who is totally down for a Negan spinoff!
Despite beginning the show as one of its most hated characters — especially after infamously killing Glenn and Abraham — Negan has become a fascinating figure. He may not be considered a good guy yet, although he’s undergone something of a redemption arc. Just look at how he helped end the Whisperer War by killing Alpha. And the show is diving deeper into his character, such as in the season 10 episode “Here’s Negan,” which told his origin story.
Given Negan’s popularity, a spinoff is certainly a possibility. “There’ve been things discussed with me and network people,” Jeffrey Dean Morgan told TVLine. “We’ll see. I mean, Negan could still find his way six feet under , so that could be a problem unless it’s a prequel. But there are still stories to be told with Negan. I kind of know how the season has worked itself so far, and we’re cracking open windows here and there that would lend themselves to more Negan story.”
"I do love Negan. There’s an amazing opportunity to dive a lot deeper into this man who I think has become very interesting the last few years. I’m certainly not opposed to keeping him alive for a bit longer and finding out more about him."
Jeffrey Dean Morgan wants a Negan spinoff that takes the character forward
So what would a spinoff entail? Could we go back into his past again? Or are solo adventures the best way forward? If Morgan had his way, a Negan spinoff would continue his story. “I’ll be very honest with you, if I was to do more, I would like to move forward with the story and not backward,” he said. “I loved what we showed in ‘Here’s Negan,’ but now we’ve done a lot of that story. We could do a short series on how the Saviors came to be, which would be kind of interesting, but I’m more looking forward.”
I think one possible path could be an adaptation of Kirkman’s short comic, “Negan Lives,” which he released last year. This comic chronicles what happened to Negan after the main comic ended. While short, it could provide a starting point for a proper spinoff.
The big caveat here is whether Negan will actually survive the final season. Tension has been rising between him and Maggie (Lauren Cohan). It’s looking more and more likely that things will get violent before the series ends.
What Walking Dead spinoffs are coming?
So far, we know of a few spinoffs in the works. We already have Fear the Walking Dead and World Beyond, and we know that there are two spinoff shows currently in development: a Daryl-Carol show and an anthology series called Tales of the Walking Dead. There’s also the Rick Grimes movies and even a mysterious comedy show. That’s enough zombies to keep the franchise going strong for many years to come!
The Walking Dead season 11 continues Sundays on AMC. For AMC+ subscribers, new episodes air one week early.
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