The Walking Dead recently announced its first new cast member for its next batch of episodes. Hilarie Burton Morgan is guest starring in one out of the six upcoming instalments as Lucille, the late wife of Negan, opposite her real-life husband Jeffrey Dean Morgan.
This perfect bit of casting has excited fans who’ve been waiting for the former villain’s backstory to finally unfold on screen for the past four seasons and Burton Morgan herself recently addressed the news of her joining the TWD universe on Twitter. In a retweet of the announcement, the actress shared the following:
Been pretty hard to keep this a secret. 💕
But I love working with @JDMorgan . I love watching him become #Negan and take on that swagger. And I love the @TheWalkingDead family. They’ve been a part of our family for ages and I’m so grateful for their kindness. Xoxo #hereslucille https://t.co/9tRh7NB8WY— Hilarie Burton Morgan (@HilarieBurton) November 3, 2020
Negan’s origins were not explored in the mainline comic book series but in a spinoff miniseries penned by creator Robert Kirkman. Titled Here’s Negan – which Burton was referencing in her tweet – the comic revealed that Negan’s wife Lucille died of cancer just as the zombie outbreak was kicking off. Her death was a massive source of guilt for him, too, as he’d been having an affair prior to her diagnosis. As we know, he carried around the memory of her throughout his Savior days – literally, as he named his favorite weapon after his wife.
Production is underway right now on those bonus episodes that will be coming to AMC in early 2021. From what we understand, they’ll act as a bridge between season 10 and the eleventh and final season and will arrive later next year. They’ll also be anthology-like in style and have a smaller scale than usual, due to being made in line with COVID-19 safety precautions.
While we wait for The Walking Dead to return, spinoffs Fear the Walking Dead and Walking Dead: World Beyond air new episodes Sundays on AMC.