The Walking Dead continues to honor the decidedly not-TV-friendly vibes of its source material, this time shooting two different versions of its forthcoming season finale to accommodate for some very necessary vulgarities. Jeffrey Dean Morgan (Watchmen, The Good Wife), as first reported by Entertainment Weekly, is set to debut his take on the well-dressed villain in the last episode of The Walking Dead's sixth season. However, according to director Greg Nicotero, exactly how Negan will reveal himself still remains a bit of a mystery.
"Even back when Michael Cudlitz was cast as Abraham we were like, 'Damn, how are we going to deal with Abraham’s dialogue?'" Nicotero tells EW, noting that Walking Dead showrunner Scott Gimple quickly redirected his concerns to the forthcoming arrival of Negan. "There is a rhythm to it that even in some of the takes that we did," Nicotero recalls. "What I affectionately call the 'f— takes' have a completely different rhythm to them and a completely different feel."
Gimple, though as equally insistent as Nicotero on the general indecisiveness surrounding on the TV fate of Negan's penchant for dropping indiscriminate fucks into casual conversation, tells EW that he's working hella hard to ensure that fans can—in one way or another—really get a taste of "full-octane Negan." As has previously been the case with Rick Grimes' own instances of fuckery, this "full-octane Negan" may simply end up being available on Netflix and other VOD services (i.e. anywhere but regular television).
In a perfect world, Negan could go "full-octane" in the profanity department with nary a worry or concern other than presumably crushing viewers' souls by swiftly taking the life of a main character. In fact, according to the stars themselves, at least half of that utopian desire is very likely to become reality. "It's different and we're gunning towards one of the best, most appalling and brilliant season finales we've ever attempted," Andrew Lincoln (Rick Grimes) told Variety last week. "It made me physically sick when I read it."
