The Walking Dead might be in its advancing years now, but AMC has no plans to slow down the franchise. In fact, they fully intended to mine its multi-media potential. Recently, it was revealed that the network is looking to produce a bunch of movies set in the TWD world, and star Jeffrey Dean Morgan unsurprisingly has a pitch for a spinoff film starring himself as big bad Negan.
Morgan explained his wish to the press at a recent set visit to promote the upcoming ninth season. Apparently, he’s been bugging the Powers That Be for a long time about the idea, as he believes that a standalone movie could be the best place to explore Negan more fully as a character, in contrast to the ensemble nature of the TV series.
“For two years I’ve talked to [Walking Dead chief content officer Scott] Gimple about it. I certainly hope. I know that they’ve talked about doing all sorts of other things, movies and whatever else. I don’t know too much about it. I know it could be an exciting opportunity to tell that story.”
Morgan went on to clarify that he thinks a movie based on Here’s Negan, the comic book miniseries that explained the villain’s backstory, would be what he’d want most.
Of course, this isn’t the first time that the actor’s made his feelings about a solo vehicle for himself as Negan clear, as he previously suggested that he could have his own show. A film would probably be the best bet, though, and we’d be surprised if this isn’t one of the ideas AMC execs are throwing around as one of the potential movies they’re developing.
As for Negan’s backstory, reports say that TWD‘s producers are interested in exploring what made him the man he is today. If this doesn’t come to light in season 9, maybe we can take it as red that Morgan’s managed to convince Gimple and co. to make a Negan movie, after all.
Either way, be sure to catch The Walking Dead when it returns to AMC on Sunday, October 7th.