The Walking Dead fans have been waiting years for the TV series to dig into Negan’s past, and the upcoming bonus episodes of season 10 due in 2021 seemed like the perfect place for the former villain’s origins to be explored at last. Now, we finally have confirmation that this is happening, as actress Hilarie Burton has been cast as Negan’s late wife Lucille in one episode of the mini-season.
Of course, fans may know that Burton is the real-life wife of Negan actor Jeffrey Dean Morgan. ComicBook.com broke the news of her casting, revealing that AMC has confirmed to them that Burton will be appearing as a guest star in one out of the six additional episodes and is already busy filming her scenes alongside her on and off-screen husband in Georgia.
Lucille is a character who comes from the comics – specifically, spinoff prequel miniseries Here’s Negan. That established that Negan lost his wife to cancer at the same time as the apocalypse happened. He suffered from a lot of guilt over Lucille’s death, too, as he’d been having an affair prior to her terminal diagnosis. As we know, he went on to name his beloved barbed bat in her honor. She’s already been referenced on the show, but Negan’s backstory has been left vague. Until now, that is.
From what we understand, the bonus episodes will be anthology-like in nature, focusing on individual or groups of characters in the wake of the conclusion of the Whisperer War. This approach has been taken to make sure they can be easily made within COVID-19 safety protocols. Burton’s casting as Lucille should help with that, too, as the couple might be able to portray a level of intimacy on screen that would be more difficult with two actors of different households.
Get ready to learn the truth about Negan when The Walking Dead returns in early 2021.