The Walking Dead: Could Negan Be A Woman?

A couple of weeks ago, the official website for Robert Kirkman and Charlie Adlard's The Walking Dead ran a poll that got us a little curious.

Asking fans who they'd like to see play Negan -- the winner was The Strain's Kevin Durand -- they included a choice that was "not an actor -- but an actress," with commentary that noted "Hey why not? AMC gender-swapped the Douglas Monroe character (to Deanna). Could a gender-swap work for Negan? What kind of woman would be needed to embody that role and who could pull it off? A Michelle Rodriguez type? Or someone that can go from sweet and innocent to raving lunatic at the drop of a hat? What do you guys think?"

It's a curious possibility to raise and just it being there almost made us feel like they were testing out the waters. It's a long shot -- and it wouldn't have too much support from the fan base, according to the poll, where it scored 2% -- but it wouldn't be entirely shocking.

After all, women are playing a larger role in The Walking Dead, both in the comics with Magna and company, and on TV with the increased role of fan-favorite Carol.

Negan's particular type of intimidation, which relies on weapons, superior numbers and strategy, doesn't actually require the person playing the character to be a big, bulky guy, even if that is how he's depicted in the comics. Especially in a world where we've seen Carol single-handedly take down Terminus, it would be entirely plausible that a woman would be that scary in a confrontation.

What do you think? Could it be made to work?